Antonio Conte hits out at 'upsetting' rumours he would ditch Napoli for Juventus as Serie A winner says there was 'no agreement whatsoever'

In an interview with Sky Sport Italia, the Napoli boss stated that there was "no agreement whatsoever" with Juventus and that he refused to speak with any club before holding talks with Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis at the end of the season. Conte reaffirmed his dedication to Napoli and has two years left on his contract.

Conte's future had come under scrutiny toward the end of the 2024-25 season when reports surfaced regarding a potential reunion with the Old Lady while his team mounted a successful challenge for the Serie A title. However, he dismissed such claims and displayed his respect for Juventus while underlining his loyalty to Napoli.

Conte said: "What upsets me is that, just a month before the end of the season, there were talks of me going to Juventus, suggesting I could leave Napoli. I had no agreement whatsoever with Juventus. To anyone who tried to approach me, I said: ‘I won’t speak to anyone until I’ve talked with President De Laurentiis'."

When asked whether his Napoli stay would further upset Juventus fans, Conte replied: "Only the stupid ones can follow these things. For me, Juventus was and will always be Juventus, just like Lecce. No one will ever be able to undermine the feelings I have for my own story and where I grew up. It bothers me because many people take advantage of my public image; I realise my name carries a certain weight."

He also talked about how Napoli handled transfers last season, touching on the late arrivals of Scott McTominay, Billy Gilmour, David Neres and Romelu Lukaku, as well as the sale of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to Paris Saint-Germain in the middle of the season.

“I think everyone is aware of what happened in January," he added. During the season, some things didn’t really make me happy. New players arrived only in the last week [of the summer window]. McTominay, Gilmour, Neres and Lukaku. Honestly, I didn’t like that. I believe I was good at accepting and not giving excuses to my players and myself. When you sign, there are honours and duties. When we spoke, they admitted there had been mistakes; it happens in the first year of marriage. As long as I was reassured on this aspect, we continued. We must defend the Scudetto and protect our work."

Napoli will begin their 2025-26 season in August, with squad planning already underway. In year two of his three-year contract, the team will hope to dominate Italy again with an aim of resurgence in the Champions League.