Tottenham duo gave 'ultimatum' they would leave if Antonio Conte was not sacked

30 March 2023 , 08:57

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Tottenham duo gave 'ultimatum' they would leave if Antonio Conte was not sacked

Richarlison and Cristian Romero made it clear that they would consider quitting Tottenham if Antonio Conte was not removed from his position as head coach, it has been claimed.

After weeks of speculation, Spurs confirmed last weekend that Conte had agreed to leave the club by mutual consent following his remarkable post-match tirade after the Londoners' 3-3 draw with Southampton earlier this month.

And although the Italian's rant, which included a swipe at the club's rotten mentality and "selfish players", was one of his final acts, there had already been hints that friction had been building between Conte and his squad; making it inevitable that the club would not seek to extend his contract, which was due to expire in the summer.

Two Tottenham players were ready to quit the club if Antonio Conte had remained in his post (Getty Images)

Now, TyC Sports has claimed that Conte's relationship with the Spurs squad was 'very bad' - so much so that Richarlison and Romero had both 'given an ultimatum' to the Spurs hierarchy to make it clear that they did not want to work with the former Inter Milan chief going forward.

It is believed, however, that both will remain at the club following Conte's departure, with his assistant, Cristian Stellini, set to see out the remainder of the season.

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News that several members of the squad were unhappy will come as no surprise following Conte's public row with Richarlison after the Brazilian striker claimed that Tottenham's season had been "s***".

Conte insisted that the former Everton ace wasn't criticising him, but he was, in fact, being critical of his own form since his blockbuster summer switch. Speaking earlier this month, Conte said: "First of all, I watched the interview of Richarlison. He didn't criticise me. He said his season was s***, and he's right. His season has been not good.

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Richarlison was one of the players who was not happy with life under Conte and was believed to be prepared to leave (ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images)

"He had injuries, played and scored in the Champions League and then went to the World Cup and then had a serious injury. He's scored no goals for us. I think he was really honest to say his season was not good. His season has not finished yet. If he deserves to play, I'll give him the opportunity."

And the former Spurs boss then went on to claim that Richarlison's blunt outburst was "selfish". He continued: "For the rest of the interview, I think he (Richarlison) made a mistake. When you speak of 'I' and not 'us', you are being selfish.

"I say to my players, 'if we want to build something important and win a trophy, we have to speak with 'we' not with 'I'', because otherwise you're thinking of yourself.

"He made a mistake and he apologised and it was good for me to clarify with the team again about this. In this aspect, we have to improve. We have to be more of a team and show more spirit positive, especially in negative moments."

Dan Marsh