Antonio Conte to Man Utd: A potted history of links, near-misses and sliding doors moments

Antonio Conte and Manchester United. Is it finally going to happen? The stars might finally be aligning for a marriage between two of football’s most combustible forces. What could possibly go wrong?

It’s a link that has cropped up time and again. Since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, Conte has taken on five different jobs, won league titles with four different clubs and managed two of the Premier League’s ‘big six’. United, meanwhile, have burned through seven permanent managers without ever mounting a genuine title challenge.

With Michael Carrick winless in seven and under severe pressure, Conte sits at home waiting for his next job. Could this finally be the moment?

We’ve put together a potted history of Conte’s long-running links to Old Trafford, and why the two parties have never quite come together… yet.

2013: Ferguson succession

Cast your mind back to the spring of 2013, when the bombshell news of Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure broke, and Conte was establishing himself as one of Europe’s most promising young coaches at Juventus.

He’d led the Old Lady to an unbeaten Scudetto in his debut season and was well on his way to retaining the title, despite serving a four-month touchline ban relating to a match-fixing investigation from his time at Siena.

The Italian newspaper Tuttosport had touted Conte as a potential successor to Ferguson, with the story picked up by British outlets.

There was little more to it than newspaper speculation, with no direct quotes or concrete suggestion of talks between the parties.

Ultimately, nothing came of it. United appointed David Moyes, while Jose Mourinho has since claimed that he was their first choice but turned them down after agreeing to return to Chelsea.

Conte stayed in Turin and led Juventus to a third successive Serie A title the following season.

David Moyes lasted just 10 months as Ferguson’s successor before being sacked in April 2014, with United languishing in seventh place, 23 points off the top. Ryan Giggs was placed in caretaker charge while the club searched for a permanent replacement.

Conte was once again in the frame, with The Independent reporting that the Italian had emerged as a potential candidate alongside Louis van Gaal, Carlo Ancelotti and Diego Simeone.

The Juventus boss was closing in on another Scudetto. His contract was due to expire in 2015, potentially making him an attainable target.

United went with Van Gaal, while Conte resigned at Juventus before taking on the Italian national team job after their disastrous World Cup.

Conte was tight-lipped back in 2014, but the following year he appeared to confirm that he’d held talks with the Manchester United hierarchy before they landed on Van Gaal.

“The English team that looked for me ended up signing the coach of a national team,” Conte told reporters during the March 2015 international break.

“But my challenge with the national team is personal. Becoming a coach where usually the job is to select players, it is inspiring.”

2016: The Premier League’s managerial revolution

The summer of 2016 saw the Premier League’s biggest clubs respond to Leicester’s miracle with a managerial arms race.

Guardiola was City-bound, Klopp was still finding his feet at Liverpool and Conte confirmed in March that he’d leave Italy after the Euros.

“Conte is eager to work on the pitch on a daily basis and we can understand him,” explained Italian FA president Carlo Tavecchio.

United could theoretically have made their move, but Mourinho was already their main target. Chelsea announced Conte in April, United appointed Mourinho in May.

2018: Mourinho out, Conte available

Mourinho’s increasingly toxic reign came to an end in December 2018, just five months after Conte’s acrimonious departure from Chelsea.

He was available to succeed his old rival, with The Telegraph reporting that he’d be open an approach from United.

“If you’re worried about conflict with the players, you can multiply Jose Mourinho by two with Antonio Conte,” journalist Duncan Castles warned. Having just endured Mourinho’s scorched-earth final months, United could perhaps be forgiven for steering clear of another notoriously combustible character.

Mauricio Pochettino was reportedly their preferred choice, but the Tottenham boss stayed put. United instead turned to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, whose impressive caretaker spell earned him the job permanently.

Summer 2021: Conte back on the market

Conte had just ended Inter’s 11-year wait for a Scudetto before leaving over disagreements about the club’s direction.

“If there’s something that doesn’t convince me I prefer not to accept regardless of the money,” he said after rejecting Tottenham.

An elite manager was available, but United weren’t looking.

Solskjaer had just guided them to second place and appeared to have the club moving in the right direction. Losing the Europa League final to Unai Emery’s Villarreal was a bitter pill to swallow, but it was a blip in what felt like – at the time – the most settled, positive period of the post-Ferguson era.

Autumn 2021: El Sackico & the ultimate sliding doors result

So much for stability. By October, the optimism surrounding Solskjaer’s United had given way to increasingly familiar scenes of chaos, culminating in a humiliating 5-0 home defeat to Liverpool.

The spectre of Conte loomed large, and The Guardian reported that he was keen on the job despite his usual preference for starting projects in the summer.

“I think his first choice was Manchester United without a doubt,” Italian football journalist Nima Tavallaey told BBC Radio 5 Live.

But Gary Neville was having none of it.

“They won’t bring a hitman in again. A hitman who comes in and does a job for two years,” he said.

“Conte’s available but I wouldn’t bring him to Manchester United. I wouldn’t bring him here now, I wouldn’t. I don’t think Antonio Conte is a fit for Manchester United.”

The Ronaldo question complicated matters further. Conte’s intense training methods and tactical demands appeared an awkward fit for United’s ageing superstar, with later reports suggesting the Portuguese had reservations.

United persevered with Solskjaer, who secured a 3-0 victory over Tottenham in ‘El Sackico‘ just before Halloween. That result got Nuno Espirito Santo sacked. Spurs immediately reopened talks with Conte, who accepted their offer after rejecting them in June.

Solskjaer lasted another three weeks before the short-lived and even more disastrous Ralf Rangnick era. Conte led Spurs into the top four.

2024: Another missed opportunity

Ten Hag was under serious pressure after United finished eighth in the Premier League, with INEOS reportedly sounding out potential replacements including Thomas Tuchel, Mauricio Pochettino and Roberto De Zerbi.

Conte had been unemployed since leaving Tottenham in March 2023. There’s no evidence United approached him, but the timing presented an obvious opportunity.

Instead, Conte joined Napoli in June and United stuck with Ten Hag after their surprise FA Cup final victory over Manchester City bought him a stay of execution.

By the time the Dutchman was finally sacked in October, Conte was settled and committed to his new project in Naples.

While United lurched into another failed managerial experiment under Ruben Amorim, Conte was busy doing what he does best: winning the Scudetto at the first attempt.

2025: Faith in Ruben Amorim

There were a few short days at the end of the 2024-25 season when United might’ve landed Conte’s signature.

It wasn’t to be, but that didn’t stop us from writing the counterfactual.

2026: Is it finally time?

Conte didn’t explicitly mention Manchester United in his latest interview with The Athletic, but he made it clear he’d be open to a return to the Premier League.

You don’t exactly need to read between the lines to interpret the Italian fluttering his eyelashes in the direction of the higher-ups at Old Trafford.

“In England today they’re using bazookas, while everywhere else they’re still using a pistol,” he said.

“But we also need to be careful about how the money is spent. That’s why we were talking earlier about making the right assessments, about having a vision, because you may well have the money, but you have to spend it wisely.

“There are many clubs that have somewhat lost sight of their history. I’d like to go to one of these clubs to dust off that history and make it shine once more.

“Clubs where there’s pressure, where, ultimately, you know full well that you’re not going there just to take part, but to compete.”