Former Juventus and Chelsea manager Antonio Conte rejected “huge offer” from Saudi Arabia

The Saudi Pro League has been making waves in elite-level soccer ever since Cristiano Ronaldo moved to Al Nassr at the start of 2023. Since then, he has been joined by former Real Madrid teammate - and still Ballon d’Or holder - Karim Benzema, Brazil’s all-time leading goalscorer Neymar and World Cup-winning midfielder N’Golo Kanté, amongst others. Former Juventus boss Antonio Conte, however, is one man Saudi Arabia haven’t been able to tempt, however,

The Italian coach, who left his last position as manager of Tottenham Hotspur in March, has revealed to Italian TV show Belve that he was offered the opportunity to take charge of the Saudi Arabia national team, who later appointed compatriot Roberto Mancini, but wasn’t swayed by the - presumably - huge amount of money on offer. “I don’t want to discuss this, but Saudi Arabia had made huge offers to Mancini and other coaches, including myself, but I refused it - I decided to say to no.”

Juventus regret

Conte is most synonymous with his time with Juventus, winning five Serie A titles as a player and another three as a manager. He left The Old Lady to become Italy manager in 2014, a decision which he reveals bothers him to this day. “I regret leaving Juventus after three years. I saw big problems in small things, so I decided to go.”

Why did Conte turn down Napoli?

The 54-year-old also claims he rejected the chance to return to the dugout with Italian champions Napoli, who have endured a tough start to the season under new boss Rudi Garcia. Don’t expect to see him back in a job until next season, although Diego Maradona’s former club is one of two he has his eye on.

“I don’t take jobs during the season because there are situations that have been created before I arrived. Napoli and Roma are two clubs that I’d like to try because of the passion fans have. I hope one day I’ll have a chance to experience it.”