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Antonio Conte signed off from Napoli with trademark honesty, calling out the “poison” around the club and rejecting injury excuses for losing the Serie A title.
(Screengrab from X)
Antonio Conte has never been one to soften his words — and his Napoli farewell was no different.
Fresh off Napoli’s 1-0 win over Udinese on the final day of the Serie A season, Conte delivered a brutally honest assessment of why he felt he could no longer continue at the club, despite guiding them to a Scudetto previously.
The former Chelsea and Tottenham manager admitted that, while results on the pitch were strong, he ultimately failed to unify the atmosphere around the club.
“On Napoli, I failed in one thing: I wasn’t able to bring compactness to Napoli and if you don’t manage to do it, it becomes difficult to fight against other teams,” Conte said.
“I’ve seen a lot of poison and those who spread it are failures. Napoli doesn’t need failures, those who need a like. It needs serious people who want to love the team.”
Conte added that the negativity surrounding the club convinced him there was no long-term future for him in Naples.
“I failed from this point of view and I understood that I would never be able to compact the environment. For me it was fundamental, so I raised my hands.”
Conte Shuts Down De Laurentiis
If that was not enough, Conte then publicly contradicted Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis during a tense exchange over the Serie A title race.
An argument between Conte and the Napoli president in the press conference! 🚨 De Laurentiis: “If we had not faced the problems we faced, we would have won the league title.”
🚨 Conte nervously: “I do not agree with you. Inter is a great team. We must acknowledge the victory of others and show respect to them. Inter deserved the title.” pic.twitter.com/F8kqd2STue
– Calcio madness (@Azuri99) May 24, 2026
De Laurentiis argued Napoli could have comfortably retained the league title had injuries not disrupted their season.
Conte completely disagreed.
“Absolutely not,” he responded.
The Napoli boss instead insisted that Inter Milan deserved full credit for winning the title.
“Inter deserve credit because they are a great team. Last year, they reached the Champions League final and this year they strengthened more. They deserved to win.”
When De Laurentiis pointed out that Inter had statistically performed worse than the previous season, Conte again pushed back.
“They did more than us. They took that extra step more than us.”
Conte also made it clear he had little interest in using injuries as justification.
“You have to recognize other teams’ victories and show respect. If we want respect, we have to give it. Inter deserved it, with injuries or without.”
That’s one way to exit stage left. Sharp, awkward and unapologetically Conte.
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