Conte led Chelsea to a surprise championship in his first season in English football after suffering a poor start, but rumors of rifts and poor results have followed this season.
The Italian was reportedly unhappy with the transfer business the club completed over the summer, missing out on Fernando Llorente and Antonio Candreva.
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And now, it seems, Abramovich has once again seen enough. According to Spanish newspaper Marca, the ruthless Russian has already decided that he is ready to sack Conte and is not even on speaking terms with him.But his second season at the club has been far from a disaster. Chelsea is fourth in the Premier League, nine points short of Pep Guardiola’s rampant Manchester City, but looks set for the knockout stage of the Champions League.
Chelsea beat Atletico Madrid at the Wanda Metropolitano last month but a disastrous 3-0 defeat away to Roma on Tuesday sent dark clouds over Stamford Bridge.
Conte’s opportunity to lift them comes on Sunday, ironically against Manchester United and Jose Mourinho, the last man Abramovich sacked as Chelsea manager—for the second time—in December 2015.
Mourinho, like Conte, had won the Premier League the previous year but player unrest and an alarming slide down the table saw Abramovich act early and bring in Guus Hiddink as interim manager.
Abramovich has a track-record in English football for being relentless with managers. His ultimate aim, winning the Champions League, was achieved in May 2012 by Roberto di Matteo. Six months later, he was sacked and replaced by Rafael Benitez.
Before them, Carlo Ancelotti won the double with Chelsea in 2010, his first season at the club, but was sacked the following season after finishing second in the table.
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