Antonio Conte has left Napoli after reaching an agreement with the Serie A club to terminate his contract early, ESPN reported via PA.
Conte had one year remaining on his deal, but Napoli confirmed an agreement with the coach and his staff to part ways before the contracts' natural expiry. The club thanked Conte and his backroom team for their work, according to the report.
Conte-Napoli Deal Ends One Year Early
The decision closes a short but eventful Napoli tenure. Conte guided the club to their fourth Serie A title a year ago, then added the Italian Super Cup in December.
This season ended with Napoli second in the league, 11 points behind champions Inter. That finish was still strong by most measures, but it came after a title-winning campaign and did not stop the project from reaching an early end.
Conte had already signalled that he felt the cycle had run its course. ESPN reported that he previously said he had called the president a month earlier because he sensed the project was coming to an end.
Napoli Face Another Managerial Reset
The split leaves Napoli needing a new head coach after a season in which they remained near the top of Serie A but did not retain the title. ESPN reported that Napoli were said to be close to appointing former AC Milan boss Massimiliano Allegri as Conte's replacement.
That was framed as a reported next step rather than a confirmed appointment in the ESPN article, so the certainty is limited to Conte's exit: Napoli and his staff agreed to end the contract early.
Conte's resume makes the move bigger than an ordinary offseason change. Before Napoli, he managed Inter Milan, Chelsea and Tottenham, and he coached Italy between 2014 and 2016.
Italy Link Adds Wider Context
ESPN also noted that Conte, 56, had been linked with a return to manage Italy after Luciano Spalletti was sacked following the national team's failure to qualify for the World Cup.
Conte said he felt he had failed to bring unity to the Napoli environment, according to comments included in the ESPN report. That explanation gave the departure a football reason beyond the basic contract language.
For Napoli, the immediate issue is continuity. A coach who delivered a Serie A title and a Super Cup is gone before the final year of his deal, and the club's next appointment will inherit both the expectation created by Conte's high point and the tension that ended his spell early.