Chelsea have been ordered to pay Antonio Conte £9m in compensation fees after the former Blues manager was fired last summer.
Conte was sacked from Chelsea after a turbulent season, which saw the Italian fall out with a number of players and executives at the club. With a year still left to run on his deal at Stamford Bridge, Conte's lawyers subsequently pleaded the case that he was entitled to be paid for the final year of his deal until he accepted a new job.
Despite arguing that Conte's behaviour in his final year had put him in breach of his contract, The Times are now reporting that Chelsea have lost the case after a Premier League manager’s arbitration tribunal ruled in favour of the manager.
The pay-off means that Chelsea have now forked out more than £90m in compensation fees to sacked managers since Roman Abramovich took over the club in 2003. That number could potentially rise further if the club decide to part ways with current manager Maurizio Sarri this summer.
Chelsea could theoretically take the case to the High Court, but the club are said to be unwilling to do so. They will not be challenging the decision of the tribunal, which marks the end of the feud from their perspective.
With the legal case now all-but settled, Conte is on the verge of returning to management and has been strongly linked with the top job at Juventus and Inter.
Juventus have already announced that they will be parting ways with Massimiliano Allegri this summer, while Luciano Spalletti is under increasing pressure at Inter.
Source :
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