Conte’s legal fight with Chelsea continues to drag on — report

Like the dozen or so Chelsea managers who had been sacked prior to him in the Abramovich Era, Antonio Conte should be at home, kicking his feet up, and collecting his weekly severance checks, as promised to him by the terms of his contract. Or, if he was feeling particularly motivated, he would be holding down a new job already, forgoing the balance of the settlement in favor of moving on to the next phase of gainful employment.

Either way, the one thing he should not be doing is waiting in limbo for the lawyers and courts to figure out what happens. But that is precisely what Conte’s reality is still. After all, it’s been just a little over two months and nothing ever moves fast in the legal world.

This reminder of the ugly situation between Chelsea and Conte, the former sacking the latter and claiming “just cause” to do so without any penalty payment or payout due, comes on the heels of the latest rumors linking Conte with the AC Milan job, where Gennaro Gattuso continues to skate on thin ice. Three draws on the bounce and just one win from the opening five league matches of the season have left Milan floundering in the Serie A midtable, already twelve points off the pace set by Juventus, albeit with a game in hand.

Gattuso’s days appear to be numbered, but as Gazzetta dello Sport report (via Football Italia), the path to Conte for the Rossoneri is complicated thanks to the aforementioned legal proceedings.

Then again, Conte finding a new job could help that situation as well, perhaps motivating the two parties to come together and figure out a mutually beneficial settlement to this ugly and wholly unnecessary episode.