Antonio Conte departure from Napoli confirmed with four-word statement

[p]"Thanks for everything, coach," the ‌club wrote on their social media page.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/napoli/69Dxbc61/"]Napoli[/a] ended ‌their season with a 1-0 home victory over [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/udinese/rXw8YKDE/"]‌Udinese[/a] on Sunday, which secured a second-place finish behind Serie A champions [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/inter/Iw7eKK25/"]Inter Milan[/a]. [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/conte-antonio/23vSAc12/"]Conte[/a] announced he ‌was stepping down at a press conference ⁠before clashing with ‌the president.[/p][p]De Laurentiis claimed that Napoli would have defended ​their league title had his squad not been depleted by fitness issues throughout the ​campaign.[/p][p]Napoli struggled for a large part of the latter half of the season, with key ⁠players such as [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mctominay-scott/A7S3y397/"]​Scott McTominay[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/de-bruyne-kevin/MsPs6OI5/"]Kevin De Bruyne[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/lukaku-romelu/dCkG0Iw0/"]Romelu Lukaku[/a] and captain [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/di-lorenzo-giovanni/MP69NX2i/"]Giovanni Di Lorenzo[/a] sidelined for long spells.[/p][embed guid="0725c616-095f-46f2-b77a-65ffe009b48f" url="https://x.com/en_sscnapoli/status/2058852636095352886" social-type="twitter" /][p]"[b]Without the injuries, we would have been the champions[/b]," De ‌Laurentiis said.[/p][p]The remarks drew an immediate response from Conte, sitting alongside the president, who urged greater respect for Inter's achievements.[/p][p]"[b]That probably would not have happened[/b]," Conte said. "Inter's merits need to be recognised.[/p][p]"[b]I'm sorry, but I don't like clinging to these things. We have to acknowledge others' victories and show respect. If we want respect, we ‌have to give it. Inter deserved to win ​the league, with injuries or not[/b]."[/p][p]The duo ‌revealed that the decision to end their professional relationship had been reached months earlier in the campaign.[/p][p]De Laurentiis refused to name any targets to succeed Conte, but suggested that the returning ⁠players could prove ⁠effective under a ‌new leadership style.[/p]