Conte suggests he is BANNED by Spurs from speaking to Italian media

Antonio Conte suggests he has been BANNED from speaking to the Italian media by Tottenham after his bombshell interview on transfers left the club stunned, as he says he is ‘disturbed’ by the ‘not so clear’ translation of his quotes

  • Antonio Conte appears to have been banned from speaking to the Italian press 
  • His comments to Sky Italia are understood to have left Tottenham shellshocked 
  • Conte claimed that his squad was weakened and played down top four chances 
  • But today, he has said he is ‘disturbed’ by the fallout from the dramatic interview 

Antonio Conte has suggested Tottenham no longer want him to speak to the Italian media after a recent interview in which the manager appeared to claim Spurs’ January business had left his squad weaker than before.

Conte hit the headlines this week after two interviews in which he discussed Tottenham’s top-four chances and their transfer dealings in the recent window.

The Italian claims he was ‘disturbed’ by the fall-out and accused the media of consistently trying to ‘create a problem’ between Tottenham coaches and chairman Daniel Levy.

Antonio Conte suggested he has been banned by Tottenham from talking to the Italian media

His comments about Spurs’ transfer dealings and top four chances this year left Spurs stunned

‘I think I was very, very clear. I don’t understand why someone wants to try to create a problem with me. Not only me but also in the past. 

‘I read stories in the past about this club and it creates a problem with the coach and the chairman and the club,’ Conte said.

‘The chairman knows very well my thoughts. It’s not important for me to go to the media and speak to the media. If I have to speak with him, I go to speak with him.   

Daniel Levy brought in two new players last month, but Conte believes his squad is weakened

‘Sorry but I was a bit disturbed by this situation, especially because I had an interview with the Italian media. It means the club now doesn’t want me to speak to Italian media because the translation was not so clear with my thoughts.’ 

Conte sought to clarify his comments to Sky Sport Italia, when he implied his squad might be weaker than before the January window.

Spurs signed Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur from Juventus on deadline day but Tanguy Ndombele, Giovani Lo Celso and Bryan Gil all left on loan, while Dele Alli joined Everton.

‘During the interview after the transfer window, after January ended, they asked me about the club, if I was happy, and I said the club did the best that the club could do. We lost four players and I said: “Important players for Tottenham”.  


Conte claimed new boys Dejan Kulusevski (left) and Rodrigo Bentancur (right) are not ready

‘Because these players that we sent away on loan, Tottenham paid a lot of money (for). When you spend a lot of money, it means we are talking about important players for the club.

‘To pay attention to the future because we need players used to playing in this league. And in my last interview, I said numerically, when you lost four players, important players for Tottenham, I repeat because they spent a lot of money, and you sign two players. 

‘If I had 20 players and now I have 18 players numerically, you can be a bit weaker. Numerically. Then I said also with (Dejan) Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur, as a squad we are more complete.’

Conte also addressed his comments on Tottenham’s top-four chances. 

He has also said he is ‘disturbed’ by the reporting of his comments and their poor translation

‘During my interview, I said this and like always, before going to Inter Milan and my first interview, they asked me about the target, and I said I needed to feel one per cent possibility to win,’ Conte said.

‘In that case with Inter Milan we were talking about winning the league because don’t forget I’m used to fighting to win the league. In this case, they asked me about the Champions League and I said I need to feel one per cent possibility to fight for a Champions League place. 

‘For sure this is not my target, for sure this is not my target but when I decide to come here, I understood that the only target we could fight for would be this.’

Conte added: ‘I always said I’m enjoying my time with Tottenham, enjoying working with these players. I always said this. Then we have four months at the end of this season and we have to try to do our best to finish in the best place possible in this league. And then we’ll see.’ 




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