Antonio Conte has left Tottenham by mutual consent, a week on from criticising the club and players in a remarkable outburst, with assistant Cristian Stellini to take charge until the end of the season.
Conte hit out after Spurs blew a two-goal lead in a 3-3 draw away to rock-bottom Southampton last Saturday, calling his players "selfish" and questioning Tottenham's lack of success during Daniel Levy's time as chairman,
He was reportedly asked by Levy and club chiefs to clarify those comments, apparently insisting his "20 years and they never won something" comment was aimed at the players, rather than his bosses.
But seemingly Conte's position had become untenable, with Spurs confirming the Italian's departure on Sunday, eight days on from his public tirade.
"We can announce that head coach Antonio Conte has left the club by mutual agreement," a Spurs statement read.
"We achieved Champions League qualification in Antonio’s first season at the club. We thank Antonio for his contribution and wish him well for the future.
"Cristian Stellini will take the team as acting head coach for the remainder of the season, along with Ryan Mason as assistant head coach."
Conte already looked likely to leave Spurs in June when his contract was set to expire.
Media reports earlier this month suggested neither Conte nor Spurs wanted to extend the arrangement.
Fans had long been frustrated by the brand of football introduced by the former Chelsea boss, and recent results only made the atmosphere more toxic.
While Conte was absent after having gallbladder surgery, Spurs were knocked out of the FA Cup by Championship side Sheffield United on March 1, and a week later they were eliminated from the Champions League after a limp 0-0 draw at home to Milan, who had beaten them 1-0 in San Siro.
Although Spurs defeated Nottingham Forest 3-1 on March 11 to earn some momentary respite, their late collapse at St Mary's – followed by Conte's extraordinary rant – proved the final straw.
Conte departs with Spurs still firmly immersed in the race for Champions League qualification, sitting fourth in the Premier League.
However, Liverpool and Newcastle United – seven and two points behind respectively – have two games in hand.
Former Spurs coach Mauricio Pochettino is among those linked with succeeding Conte, while Luis Enrique, Marco Silva and Julian Nagelsmann – officially sacked by Bayern Munich on Saturday – are also said to be contenders.
Rennes make top four, Nantes survive and Auxerre relegated on Ligue 1 final day
Rennes edged out Lille and Monaco to secure a top-four finish while Nantes' first league win since February saw them stay up at Auxerre's expense on a dramatic final day of Ligue 1 action.
Rennes clinched a 2-1 victory against Brest thanks to a Benjamin Bourigeaud brace, seizing on Lille's 1-1 draw with relegated Troyes and Monaco's 2-1 reverse against Toulouse to take fourth.
Bruno Genesio's side thus secured Europa League football for next season, while Paulo Fonseca's Lille must settle for a Europa Conference League spot and Monaco missed out entirely.
Champions Paris Saint-Germain squandered a two-goal lead in a 3-2 loss to Clermont, meaning they finished just one point clear of runners-up Lens, who ended the season with a 3-1 win at Auxerre.
That victory allowed Nantes to finalise a great escape in their final game, vaulting Auxerre to secure safety with a 1-0 win over relegated Angers.
Nantes therefore secured top-flight football for another year, evading the expanded four-team relegation zone by a single point ahead of the division being cut to 18 teams.
Auxerre, Ajaccio, Troyes and Angers will play in Ligue 2 next season, with Le Havre and either Metz or Bordeaux coming up from the second tier.
Lionel Messi’s final game for Paris St Germain ends in defeat to Clermont
Lionel Messi ended his Paris St Germain career with a 3-2 defeat to Clermont.
The Argentinian World Cup winner will quit Paris this summer having already been linked with a return to Barcelona and Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal next season.
He will leave as a Ligue 1 champion with PSG having already secured the title before blowing a 2-0 lead to lose on the final day of the season.
Sergio Ramos, on his final appearance for the club, and Kylian Mbappe’s penalty gave the hosts control.
Johan Gastien pulled a goal back and Mehdi Zeffane levelled in first-half stoppage time. Grejohn Kyei gave the visitors the lead after 63 minutes and Clermont held out for victory.
At the bottom, Nantes beat the drop by a point on the final day as Auxerre were relegated.
A 1-0 win over rock-bottom Angers, thanks to Ignatius Ganago’s goal, gave Nantes the win they needed as Auxerre lost 3-1 at home to Lens.
Alexis Claude-Maurice’s double gave Lens a 2-0 lead before M’Baye Niang pulled a goal back. Lois Openda made it 3-1 with 12 minutes left to seal Auxerre’s fate.
Rennes won 2-1 at Brest as they clinched fourth ahead of Lille thanks to Benjamin Bourigeaud’s double, with Lille held 1-1 by relegated Troyes to go into the Europa Conference League qualifiers.
Monaco missed out on the top five after a 2-1 defeat at home to Toulouse.
Relegated Ajaccio beat third-placed Marseille 1-0, Lorient beat Strasbourg 2-1 and Nice beat Lyon 3-1 with mid-table Montpellier winning 3-1 at Reims, finishing a point behind their hosts.
In Germany, Chelsea-bound Christopher Nkunku opened the scoring as RB Leipzig beat Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0 in the German Cup final.
The striker broke the deadlock in the 71st minute before Dominik Szoboszlai doubled the lead with five minutes left.
In Italy, Lazio sealed second spot in Serie A after a 2-0 win at Empoli thanks to goals from Alessio Romagnoli and Luis Alberto.
It came after Marcelo Brozovic scored the winner as Inter Milan beat Torino 1-0 to briefly move ahead of them but Inter must now settle for third.
Already relegated Cremonese beat Salernitana 2-0 to finish their season on a high.
Paris Saint-Germain 2-3 Clermont: Messi and Ramos denied winning send-off as visitors fight back
Paris Saint-Germain failed to muster a winning send-off for Lionel Messi and Sergio Ramos as they ended the Ligue 1 season by squandering a two-goal lead in a 3-2 loss against Clermont.
Early goals for the Spaniard and Kylian Mbappe put the champions on top at Parc des Princes, before Johan Gastien, Mehdi Zeffane and Grejohn Kyei completed a stirring comeback from the visitors.
It was a damp last note for ex-LaLiga heroes Messi and Ramos, who leave Paris as two-time league champions but without having won supporters' hearts – with Messi booed ahead of kick-off.
Likewise, it may prove a dour final chapter for coach Christophe Galtier, who is widely tipped to depart despite leading PSG to a record 11th league title.
PSG, who wore shirts adorned with the name of injured team-mate Sergio Rico in the first half, needed VAR to rescue them after Kyei prodded home an early finish.
The hosts promptly seized control, with Ramos netting a farewell header from Vitinha's delivery before Mbappe doubled their lead with an excellent penalty following Alidu Seidu's foul on Achraf Hakimi.
Clermont refused to fold though, with Gastien capitalising on Marco Verratti's mistake to halve the arrears and Zeffane bundling in a leveller either side of Kyei putting a spot-kick wide in a thrilling first half.
Messi, who misfired on his farewell, spurned a chance to finish Mbappe's square ball after the restart before Kyei nosed the visitors in front with a close-range finish.
PSG continued to toil for an equaliser in the closing stages and Messi almost stole a point in the final minute of injury time, only for goalkeeper Mory Diaw to stop his direct free-kick with an acrobatic save.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
