Conte to stay as Inter coach next season

MILAN • Antonio Conte will continue at the helm of Inter Milan next season, the Serie A club confirmed on Tuesday, only days after the fiery Italian hinted he was ready to quit after just one campaign.

The former Italy and Chelsea manager held a "constructive meeting focused on continuity and strategy" with the club's Chinese president Steven Zhang and team management which lasted just over three hours in a villa outside Milan.

"The two parties laid the foundations to continue working together on the club's project," the club said in a statement.

Inter have opted for continuity after finishing second in the Italian league, just one point behind champions Juventus, with their Chinese owners also confirming confidence in the entire management team.

Conte will now lead the club's bid to topple Juventus with coaching novice Andrea Pirlo having replaced Maurizio Sarri at the helm of the nine-time defending Serie A champions.

The 51-year-old Conte's departure had been heralded following an outburst after Inter Milan's 3-2 Europa League final defeat by Sevilla last Friday, extending a nine-year trophy drought.

"Now we'll return to Milan, we'll take a couple of days off. We will try to plan the future of Inter with or without me," he said then.

"It has been a very tough season from all points of view, the best decision must be taken for the good of Inter, with the utmost cordiality. I didn't like some situations."

The former Juventus boss took over in May last year on a three-year contract worth a reported €12 million (S$19.4 million) a season. But his relationship with club management and chief executive officer Giuseppe Marotta, in particular, is known to be tense.

On the final day of the domestic season, Conte slammed the fact his players had been offered "little protection from the club" and he did not "want another year like that".

It was not the first time he had publicly complained about the club, having been fiercely critical after their Champions League exit in the group stage, which he blamed on a lack of investment despite the signing of Romelu Lukaku for €65 million.

However, he has still managed to build a competitive team around the Belgium striker and Argentina forward Lautaro Martinez, which Zhang said made him "optimistic for the future".

Former Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri had been ready to succeed Conte, whom he also replaced in Turin in 2014, according to reports. Allegri parted company with Juventus last year and has not been in management since.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE