Chelsea allegedly rendered a damning verdict on Antonio Conte, causing Manchester United to avoid hiring him.
United was not convinced by the Italian, according to The Athletic, because of input from individuals working at Stamford Bridge.
Antonio is out.
Conte was unquestionably one of the front-runners to replace Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Old Trafford when rumors about the job surfaced not long into the current season.
However, by the time Solskjaer was fired near the end of November, his prospective replacement had already been signed by another club.
Following the resignation of Nuno Espirito Santo, Tottenham Hotspur named the former Chelsea manager as their next manager.
When Conte stepped through the door, Spurs were eighth in the table, mindful of the work at hand but also of the team’s potential.
27 days later, United named Ralf Rangnick as interim manager, a possible stopgap until a more permanent answer is found.
Conte was one of the long-term options, but Tottenham enticed him back to London.
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According to The Athletic, the 52-year-old informed friends a month before going to the city that he would love to sit in the Red Devils’ main dugout.
What were Chelsea’s thoughts on Conte?
While some may still be in favor of him replacing Solskjaer, others appear to be less enthusiastic.
According to the Athletic, some at United believed Conte would turn out to be a carbon copy of Jose Mourinho due to words of advice from his Chelsea counterparts.
They reportedly warned that if Mourinho was difficult, Conte would be even more so.
Of all, no one is more equipped to comment on the current Spurs coach than the Blues themselves.
He won the Premier League and the FA Cup in his first season as manager before being replaced by Maurizio Sarri in 2018.
His fall from grace was caused, among other things, by a breakdown in communication with the board and the alienation of certain players.
On this one, United may have been correct to follow Chelsea’s advice.
After all, it helped us defeat Tottenham three times in three weeks!
