Antonio Conte is not guaranteed to remain at Inter for next season if the Nerazzurri change owners, according to Italian football journalist Alberto Cerruti.
In the past week there has been intense media speculation concerning the possible sale of Inter, with many reports stating BC Partners are doing their due diligence of Inter’s accounts and could make an offer for the club in the coming weeks.
In an editorial for Italian news outlet CalcioMercato.com, Alberto Cerruti has hinted that Conte could choose to walk away from Inter at the end of this season, regardless of whether he wins the Serie A title.
“At the end of the season, with or without the Scudetto, I wouldn’t be surprised if he were the one to say goodbye to everyone, as he did at Juventus when he said that you couldn’t enter a €100 restaurant with only €10 in your pocket.
“Because by now it is clear that Suning has closed the cash taps and in the interest of Inter, we must hope that another group will arrive to reopen them at least in part, or better still, completely.
“With or without Conte on the bench.”
Cerruti also pointed out that it is now clear why Conte was not sacked by Inter at the end of last season following many public attacks against the club.
“Conte was clear recently in saying that the economic problems have existed since August and coincidentally, also in August, at the end of last season, there was a meeting between Conte and President Steven Zhang, who had to repair the rupture in relations with the coach after his attacks on the club.
“To most people’s general surprise they opted to continue together, and now we can understand why,” he concluded, implying Inter kept Conte simply because they could not afford to sack him.
Conte became Inter coach in the summer of 2019 and signed a three-year contract with the club, which he is little over half way into.
During his time in charge of the Nerazzurri, the former Italian national team coach has managed 77 games across all competitions and won 45 of these games.
Inter CEO Beppe Marotta yesterday confirmed Suning were ‘evaluating opportunities’ for new investors at the club, sparking fresh reports in today’s newspapers about BC Partners purchasing a majority stake.
