When Real Madrid come calling, few people turn them down.
But Antonio Conte wants to make it hurt for his now-former employer and is holding firm with his insistence on receiving the full payoff owed to him after Chelsea confirmed that they had parted ways with their manager.
The Mirror report that Conte rejected a summer approach from Real Madrid in order to secure the £9 million payoff from the Blues.
Chelsea would not have had to pay the remainder of the Italian's contract if he walked straight into a new position but Conte didn't want to make it that easy for Roman Abramovich.
Having been aware of the club's intentions several months ago, Conte is demanding the £9 million in one lump sum while Chelsea remained hopeful that they could keep paying the sacked manager his weekly wages until he found a new job.
After being rejected by Conte, Real Madrid eventually appointed Julen Lopetegui as Zinedine Zidane's successor at the Bernabeu while Maurizio Sarri is expected to be in the Chelsea dugout next season.
https://twitter.com/ChelseaFC/status/1017699528718389248
The fact that the relationship between Conte and the club had become strained was no secret and Chelsea's 52-word statement in which they said farewell to the 48-year-old lacked any mention of a 'thank you'.
The statement read: "During Antonio’s time at the club, we won our sixth league title and eighth FA Cup. In the title winning season, the club set a then-record 30 wins in a 38-game Premier League season, as well as a club-record 13 consecutive league victories.
"We wish Antonio every success in his future career."
No wonder Conte wants to squeeze every penny out of them...
