Antonio Conte Issues Angry Dig At Luciano Spalletti Over Napoli Title Woe: ‘Deserve Respect’
Spalletti had referred to the Partenopei as the 'former champions of Italy'.
Napoli boss Antonio Conte has angrily hit back at comments by Juventus head coach Luciano Spalletti.
Antonio Conte Demands Napoli Respect
Spalletti referred to the Partenopei as the ‘former champions of Italy’ after his side beat them 3-0, and likely ended their limp Serie A title defence, last weekend.
Conte has been dealt a string of injuries to crucial players, including Romelu Lukaku, Kevin De Bruyne and David Neres, and believes his players are now simply fighting to survive.
Indeed, Neres is out until April after undergoing surgery, while De Bruyne will miss several more weeks.
With just one win from their last six matches across all competitions, Napoli are fourth in the top-flight, nine points adrift of leaders Inter Milan, and could also crash out of the Champions League this week.
Premier League giants Chelsea make the trip to Naples on Wednesday, and anything less than a victory will likely see Conte’s outfit eliminated at the very first hurdle.
However, the Italian came out fighting in his pre-match press conference, with Spalletti in his crosshairs.
Issuing his tetchy response, he said: “I’d like to take a break after that game, especially when you have three in quick succession. I don’t understand what he said. Former champions?
“If he said something like that, it wasn’t a great sentence. It was an unfortunate phrase.
“We still wear the Scudetto on our chest and that deserves respect. I would have never allowed myself to say something like that to another team.
“I’m sorry because Luciano Spalletti is a great coach, but he has to be a little more careful when he speaks.
“He can’t say that there are still 16 games left. He’s already taken the Scudetto off us! I’m sorry because we’ve done so much to earn it, and we deserve respect. Good luck to him.”
.@sscnapoli, Conte: “Spalletti ci ha definiti ex campioni d’Italia? Se ha detto una cosa del genere è stata una frase infelice, anche perché noi abbiamo ancora lo scudetto sulla maglia e si deve portare rispetto. Io non lo avrei mai fatto. Lui è un bravissimo allenatore, ma deve… pic.twitter.com/ihnvLz3OKj
— Gianluca Di Marzio (@DiMarzio) January 27, 2026
Brutal Diego Costa Swipe Brushed Off
Conte also brushed off criticism from his former Chelsea striker Diego Costa, who accused him of being ‘always angry’ in training. He had also declared that ‘nobody’ had enjoyed working under the now 56-year-old.
Asked for his reaction to the explosive remarks, Conte was level-headed. He said: “Honestly, I don’t waste energy reading or following whatever’s been said in the newspapers.
“In football, there are intelligent and stupid people, so I won’t waste my time reading what they say.
“Costa was with me for one season. I can talk about the football. We won the league and then he tried to leave three times in the same season. After that, I don’t know what happened.”
As reported by FootItalia, Napoli are backing Conte despite their poor form.
Dan Davis
Dan is an experienced sports journalist and part-time lecturer. An expert on Serie A and Italian football, he has produced content for the likes of the Daily Mail, Reach PLC, GiveMeSport, FourFourTwo and GRV Media. While Channel 4's iconic Football Italia was a bit before his time, the nostalgia - and pastries - fuelled his love of all things Calcio.
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