Antonio Conte has dropped hints as to why there is tension between him and Inter Milan, and could lead to his exit from the Serie A club.

The former Chelsea boss revisited the issue after Inter lost the Europa League final to Sevilla 3-2 in Germany on Friday, making reference to as to the way the club handled a threatening letter containing a bullet.

“Something happened, there’s no point beating around the bush. We have to see whether everyone is prepared to not have another year like this for what happened with me,” the coach told Sky Sport Italia as cited by Football Italia.

“There are a few situations I will evaluate, it’s only right the President evaluates it too, I’ll tell the directors my views. I will always be thankful to those who gave me the chance to experience this adventure.

“Beppe Marotta, Piero Ausilio, they were all convinced I should come here and I will always thank them. It was a very tough year, there are limits to everything and if situations involve my private life, that is no longer acceptable.

“I have a family and I have to understand if football is the priority or my family. Because if some situations end up affecting my family, that is no longer enough for me. Everything has its limits, I have to see where my limits are.”

This, along with his complaint after the Atalanta game at leaks within the club that went back to the Luciano Spalletti era, seems to point towards a specific incident.

It happened in November, when newspaper reports emerged that Conte had received an anonymous letter containing a bullet, with threats aimed at him, his family and his staff.

Conte’s wife, Elisabetta Muscarello, wrote on Facebook that the story was “absolute rubbish! We’re in bad shape in Italy, when people can just wake up, write anything they want and not think about the consequences!”

It turns out, the letter had been sent to the Inter training ground and Conte had evidently tried to keep it a secret from his family, so as not to worry them.

The leak about the threat therefore came from within the club and Conte never forgave them for that lack of discretion.

Lionel Messi’s compatriot Gonzalo Higuain has warned the Barcelona talisman about the toughness of the Premier League.

The Juventus striker had firsthand experience of defenders in the league during his loan spell at Chelsea in 2019.

Big things were expected of Higuain when he arrived at Stamford Bridge, but he scored only five goals.

Messi has grown disillusioned with life at his boyhood club following numerous mounting problems behind the scenes.

Manchester City have emerged as the favourites to sign the 33-year-old which would see him reunited with old boss Pep Guardiola.

Speaking to Fox Sports, as translated by Marca, Higuain, 32, said: “I suffered a lot in the Premier League and couldn’t adapt in those six months.

“It’s nothing like LaLiga. Defenders kick the s*** out of you and nothing gets given, they don’t blow for free-kicks like they would in Spain.

“I don’t know how that would affect Messi.

“I don’t think he would suffer, since he is a player at another level.”

His contract expires next summer when he can leave for free but he appears determined to leave right now.

He reportedly threatened to quit if there was not a major restructure at the Nou Camp.

But he is not willing to wait for the change and wants to leave “immediately”, according to Esporte Interativo.

Frank Lampard is raiding beleaguered Wigan Athletic to add coach Anthony Barry to his first team staff.

Barry worked with Chelsea loanees Reece James and Dujon Sterling at Wigan.

Lampard knows Barry from doing courses together and has moved to bring him to Stamford Bridge as a new assistant with Jody Morris.

Scouser Barry, 34 joined Wigan when Paul Cook was in charge and was rated a rising star with his ideas and knowledge helping Latics.

Barry was close to becoming Tranmere Rovers manager but stayed with Wigan until this surprise approach.

He was in London yesterday to finalise the move.

After leaving first club Coventry in 2005, the ex-midfielder spent all his playing career in the lower divisions and non-League football.

His 300-plus appearances took in Accrington Stanley, twice, Yeovil, Chester City, Fleeetwood and Wrexham, where he retired in 2017.

Latest reports from Germany claim that Chelsea are rushing through negotiations with Bayer Leverkusen for Kai Havertz as the London club are growing more confident that a deal will be struck in the coming days.

According to transfer insider Kevin Palmer, Leverkusen and the Blues would like to have any deal completed by August 28 – the date that the Bundesliga club return to training.

The two clubs, Chelsea and Leverkusen, have been locked in discussions since the German club saw their Europa League campaign come to an end.

Other reports indicate that Chelsea are ‘getting closer’ after ‘a lot of progress’ was made overnight for the midfielder.

As per ExWHUEmployee, a reliable source, ‘a lot of progress’ was made overnight between the two clubs as they continued negotiations for the 21-year-old.

The German side were initially hoping to receive £90million for Havertz, but Chelsea were not too keen to abide, and now Leverkusen may accept £80million.

There was an increasingly ugly running row between Antonio Conte and Ever Banega during the Europa League Final between Inter and Sevilla.

The coach and midfielder clashed repeatedly during and after the match in Cologne, which finished 3-2 for Sevilla.

According to Sky Sport Italia and La Gazzetta dello Sport, as cited by Football Italia, angry words were exchanged in the first half after Conte had protested a refereeing decision.

Banega walked over to the touchline, ran his hand through his own hair and allegedly said: “Let me see if that wig is real.”

Conte responded furiously, his team manager Lele Oriali intervening to calm him down, but they promised to meet up again at the end of the game.

That was seemingly still the plan, because after the final whistle and Sevilla’s victory, Conte was caught on camera pointing and talking to Banega.

“I’ll wait for you here, OK? I’ll wait for you right here.”

It was a very tense match overall with too much gamesmanship, as after Sevilla went 3-2 up, their staff were spotted telling Diego Carlos to lie down just before he was about to be substituted, therefore wasting time.

Photo Credit: Twitter @ MARCAinENGLISH