Chelsea finally sack Antonio Conte

It's been coming, and now Chelsea have finally sacked Antonio Conte as manager after months of speculation, as the London club edge closer to securing a deal for former Napoli boss Maurizio Sarri as replacement.

Conte was sacked on Thursday after resuming for preseason duty with the club.

The Italian has been handed a £9m fee for losing his job, joining the likes of Jose Mourinho in pocketing a monster sum.

Conte, 48 won the Premier League in his very first season in England, but struggled to reach those heady heights again last term and finished fifth and also lifted the FA cup.

Maurizio Sarri has seemingly been lined-up to take over for weeks now – and has even left Napoli to facilitate the move.

Bizarrely, despite the sacking, Conte, had been seen leading his Chelsea stars through pre-season training.

Remarkably, it is the NINTH time in the Roman Abramovich era a boss has been handed a monster sum to leave peacefully.