Antonio Conte, Maurizio Sarri, and an Italian version of managerial poker
The situation at Stamford Bridge have left fans questioning the competence of the board and who the next manager of Chelsea will be. However, with Abramovich banned from travelling to the UK and Sarri still under contract with Napoli, there’s still a lot more to happen, as we’re witnessing a game of managerial poker.
Context
Here’s the issue. Chelsea want a new manager, but the problem is that Napoli have already replaced the manager that Chelsea want, and Chelsea were unwilling to pay the release clause for Maurizio Sarri (€8m). But, the release clause has expired, so Napoli can demand how much they want. As of now, Antonio Conte still remains Chelsea manager and has not been sacked nor has he left the club. Maurizio Sarri, on the other hand, is essentially on gardening leave, he’s on Napoli’s wage book but is no longer the manager of Napoli. Carlo Ancelotti is the safe one here. Because Sarri was continuously stalling on the new contract offer, Napoli president Aurelio de Laurentiis decided to go out and appoint Carlo Ancelotti as the manager for next season.
So at the moment, what needs to be figured out is the future of Antonio Conte, and how can Chelsea make that room for Sarri. Sarri has stated his intent to become the manager of Chelsea, but Conte doesn’t want to leave just yet. The Chelsea board are still stalling as owner Roman Abramovich is still not allowed to enter the U.K. due to visa issues, which means that nothing will go through until he’s allowed back into the U.K.
Antonio Conte
It’s been well documented for sometime that Antonio Conte is unhappy with the Chelsea board, and that the Chelsea board are unhappy with Antonio Conte. Over the past couple of weeks, Chelsea have engaged in talks with Maurizio Sarri and his lawyers, while Antonio Conte still remains manager. Conte after his FA Cup final victory stated his intent to manage Chelsea again next season, however, with the current negotiation with Sarri, it seems as though Chelsea are shoving out Antonio Conte. However, the issue for the Chelsea board would be that they would have to pay Antonio Conte out of his current Chelsea contract.
At the moment, unfortunately there’s not much that Antonio Conte can do. He’s not on speaking terms with the board, and he doesn’t have another job lined up. The Real Madrid managerial position seems to be going to Mauricio Pochettino, and he’s given himself a reputation as someone who won’t perform well if he’s not given the money or resources. Based on this idea that Conte works well with money, this immediately filters his choices down to Europe’s top-tier clubs, but the problem is that most of them already have managers, and aren’t looking to change for the foreseeable future. All that Antonio Conte can hope for remaining as Chelsea manager for as long as possible, or if he gets released, gets a full contract payout, which is expected to be £9m for Conte, and £8m for the rest of his staff.
Maurizio Sarri
The person that arguably has the most to lose out of this situation is Maurizio Sarri. He’s still getting paid by Napoli, however, if he isn’t released out of his current contract, he’s essentially in limbo, as Napoli have already announced Ancelotti as the new manager. Because the release clause has expired and the board can demand how much they want, Maurizio Sarri isn’t necessarily in a good position. Sarri and his lawyers are looking to sue the Napoli board for constructive dismissal, because Ancelotti is taking over a number of duties that are likely explicitly stated in Sarri’s contract.
At the moment, Sarri is in the worst position. Why? Because he has very limited power. His lawyers and him suing the board or paying himself out of his current contract is the best way of him getting the Chelsea managerial role. But, the issue is that the ball is in the board’s court. The board can decide to take their time with this, and because Sarri is no longer first team manager, he’s essentially powerless.
Chelsea Board
The Chelsea board are certainly up there as being one of the most incompetent boards in the world. They’ve sold important players and replaced them with expensive replacements that haven’t provided returns. The board’s decisions and judgements heavily rely on Abramovich being allowed back into the United Kingdom. This is because not only does he need to figure out who the next Chelsea manager is, but also he needs to get the ball rolling on the stadium plans. The board have a lot on their plate, some may even say too much, and so they’ve dug themselves a hole of getting stadium plans started, employing a director of football, and sorting out the managerial position.
As the ball is very much in Napoli’s court, the best strategy for the board is to look at alternatives, mainly those have no contracts or clauses that may hinder their chances of becoming Chelsea manager. But, how the board chooses to act truly depends in their priorities. If they’re looking for immediate success and rather a long-term project as they would be with Sarri, than they’ll probably appoint Laurent Blanc or Luis Enrique. These 2 managers would be ideal for Chelsea in the short term, but in the long term, they’ll still struggle to find a manager. However, if they’re looking for long term success, they can either try to appoint Sarri, Jardim, Zidane. Considering that Zidane said that he needed a break and is likely to take the France job in a few months, Sarri is their best solution for the long term. Furthermore, Jardim has already confirmed that he will be managing AS Monaco next season and so will not be interested in the Chelsea job.
Napoli Board
Out of all the parties involved, the Napoli board are the ones in the best position at the moment. They’ve already identified a replacement for Sarri, and they’ve stalled on the talks to the point that there’s no more release clause on Sarri’s contract. Because the Premier League transfer window ends before anyone else, the board can decide to stall for as long as they want and release Sarri out of his contract for a cheap price after the transfer window. This wouldn’t necessarily be horrible for Chelsea and Sarri, but it will hinder the chances of Sarri finding success in his first season as Chelsea manager.
At the current moment, it seems that the board will just continue stalling on Sarri, knowing that Chelsea have few alternatives.
The best outcomes
If this were a game, than the Napoli board are certainly winning. However, with so much time over the summer, things will certainly change.
For Antonio Conte, the best solution for him will be to keep on stalling, getting paid, and than getting his full £9m payout. Conte has already expressed his discontent with the board, and so will be content with his departure from Chelsea. Furthermore, in a year or two, given his qualities as a manager, he’ll inevitably be in another managerial position for another club.
All Maurizio Sarri can hope for at the moment is that the case goes to court, and the judge rules in favour of Sarri and he’s bought out of his contract. However, the issue is that there’s little evidence to suggest that Sarri deserves to be bought out of his contract or little evidence to suggest that the Napoli board deserve to be sued. As he will not be manager of Napoli next season, and is still under contract with Napoli, his future heavily depends on the Chelsea board agreeing a contract fee with Napoli or getting money from suing the Napoli board. Napoli’s cost for breaking Sarri’s contract is presently at 500k while the minimum fee release clause for foreign clubs is 8m. Sarri has a good case for suing for that settlement of 500k, the day ADL hired Ancelotti and effectively replaced him while he was still employed.
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