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Conte to sue Chelsea for delayed sacking

In happier times: Conte and Abramovich with the Premier League trophy
In happier times: Conte and Abramovich with the Premier League trophy

Antonio Conte is planning to sue Chelsea after his protracted sacking from the Stamford Bridge club.

It took Roman Abramovich 55 days after Conte led the Blues to the FA Cup to finally show him the exit door.

And although Conte will receive £9m compensation for the final year of his contract, the former Italy boss insists the delay in letting him go has stopped him getting a job this season and reports in The Times suggest he is ready to launch a legal battle to make up for loss of potential earnings.

Conte had been resigned to leaving Chelsea since January following the collapse of his relationship with club owner Abramovich over the club’s transfer policy.

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The 48-year-old was even summoned back to the club a fortnight ago to begin pre-season training and took charge of the players for four days before being ‘let go’ last Thursday after a brief meeting with Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck.

The following day, Maurizio Sarri was named Conte’s successor.

Conte released a statement through the League Managers’ Association in which he thanked his ‘friends’ at the club for their support but although this applied to ‘players and staff’, the fact that he did not mention Abramovich or the club board means the situation is far from resolved.

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According to The Times, Conte’s legal team will argue that have cost him a year of his career as all the top available jobs were filled: Real Madrid, PSG, Arsenal and the Italian national team.

Chelsea, meanwhile, have threatened to withhold paying Cont anything due to his alleged irregular conduct and constant criticism of the club during his second season.

In his first season, Conte led Chelsea to the Premier League season with a record-breaking number of wins that was bettered by Manchester City last term.