Chelsea face paying Antonio Conte for the outstanding year on his contract after talks break down with Real Madrid

ANTONIO CONTE has been ruled out of the manager’s role at Real Madrid – and says he’s not planning to start ANY new job until next June.

His decision will come as a blow to the Italian’s last club Chelsea, who sacked him before the start of this season – and now face paying him for the outstanding year on his contract.

That’s a whopping A$20 million – and the Blues may face an even bigger bill, as Conte is intending to take the London club to court and sue for additional damages of $15.5m, according to reports.

Chelsea are said to be refusing to pay his outstanding salary because some of his behaviour at the club – they also claim that he has failed to turn up to two meetings to discuss a deal.

The 49-year-old remains out of work, having been heavily linked with the Real Madrid hot seat after Julen Lopetegui’s disastrous start to the season and subsequent sacking.

Santiago Solari has taken over as interim manager at the Bernabeu, though, and looks likely to be offered the role on a permanent basis – yet Conte claims he was not interested in the job anyway.

He told Sky Sports: “Real Madrid? As I see it, it is better to wait until the end of the season than to take a train running now”.

He added: “I want to wait for June and start again with a new project. In three months I could change my mind and deny everything, but I’ve always thought of it this way.”

One potential future destination for Conte is his old club Juventus, where he won three consecutive Serie A titles between 2012 and 2014 – though he claims not to be interested in a return to Turin.

He said: “Of course, I am Italian and I like to live and train in Italy, obviously… [Juventus] continues to grow and is doing a great job at the business level, with huge purchases and a great deal for Allegri.”

Conte was undeniably a success in his two seasons at Chelsea, winning the Premier League title in 2017 and the FA Cup a year later.

But his relationship with the club was soured due to his treatment of several players – including Diego Costa, who was allegedly told by text that he would not be part of Conte’s future plans – and his complaints over Chelsea’s failure to secure transfer targets.