Conte to spend stint away from football after Spurs talks collapsed
Antonio Conte reveals he will use a brief stint away from football ‘to spend more time with my family’ and ‘try to study’ with former Inter Milan and Chelsea boss still without a job after talks with Tottenham collapsed
- Negotiations between Tottenham and Antonio Conte collapsed this summer
- Conte remains without a job after leaving Inter Milan days after their title win
- His brief stint away from the dugout will be spent with his family, he has said
- Former Chelsea and Italy boss Conte has insisted he also plans to study football
Antonio Conte has revealed he plans to take a brief sabbatical from football, after so far failing to take up his next job after quitting Inter Milan.
The 51-year-old looked set to replace Jose Mourinho at Tottenham this summer before negotiations collapsed, and with just a matter of weeks before clubs reconvene for pre-season, Conte remains unemployed.
This comes as a surprise after the Italian led Milan to the Serie A title last season, but Conte has chosen to focus on the positives of taking time away from the game.
Antonio Conte has revealed that he will try to make the most out of his time away from football
‘It will be a year in which I will try to study, I will see football and I will try to exploit this unwanted situation in the best possible way,’ Conte told Rai Radio1.
‘I will use the period to spend more time with my family and watch football which is always evolving.’
For a number of days, Conte was the front-runner to permanently take up the reins in north London, having walked away from the San Siro due to concerns over their lack of resources and cost-cutting.
Conte won Serie A with Inter Milan last season but left due to his differences with the board
Talks with Daniel Levy fell through, however, with Conte believed to have wanted assurances over Spurs’ desire to eventually challenge for major trophies.
There was a hesitancy from both parties as Conte continued to stall, and Spurs chiefs began to doubt whether it was possible to appoint the former Chelsea boss.
It is also thought that Spurs became concerned with Conte’s age, and the possibility of him not offering first-team chances to the club’s young players.
Conte has a proven track record of winning silverware during his career in the dugout, and there is certain to be no shortage of interested clubs next season.
Daniel Levy’s (right) pursuit of Conte (left) ended with the boss hesitating over the Spurs role
Having clinched the league title in five of his last seven seasons in club football, Conte remains one of the world’s most talented coaches.
As such, he typically demands around £15million a year for roles, but Conte was keen to insist that money was never an issue when seemingly discussing why his switch to Tottenham failed to materialise.
‘Let me say that if my problem or my obsession were money, in the past I would have stayed where I was,’ Conte told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
Conte plans to use his sabbatical to spend time with his family and continue to watch football
‘I would have accepted compromises, and perhaps [accepted] renewals. But instead I look at the projects and I am willing to stay at home if they don’t convince me.’
His sights are set to be fixed on top clubs during his stint away from the touchline, but Conte has admitted he is open to taking up more challenging jobs elsewhere.
‘I would like to have more experiences abroad,’ he told DAZN. ‘I think that I am not someone who is happy with just a comfortable situation. I always chose the most difficult situation instead.’
Spurs briefly considered Gennaro Gattuso for their hotseat but negotiations quickly collapsed
Tottenham, meanwhile, remain without a manager after missing out on several of their targets.
Julian Nagelsmann, Mauricio Pochettino and Brendan Rodgers were all names on their shortlist, but ultimately none of them took the job.
Erik Ten Hag was another name linked to the hotseat, but he committed his future at Ajax, and pursuits for Paulo Fonseca and Gennaro Gattuso ended in recent days.
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