Antonio Conte Hits Out at 'Ambition But No Money' Situation at Chelsea as Relationships Dissolve

Antonio Conte has hit out at Chelsea's board again over their supposed lack of ambition as he claimed that they hadn't backed him in the transfer market.

The Blues boss was quoted by the Independent as he spoke to the press ahead of his side's weekend encounter with Manchester City, and questioned whether his higher-ups had the same will to win as he did.

Conte has criticised his club's board throughout the season for not chasing the transfer targets that he wished to bring to Stamford Bridge, and he chose his pre-City press conference to once again reiterate that Roman Abramovich wasn't giving him the funds to make a good fist of retaining the Premier League title.

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He remarked: “I have great ambition, but I don’t have money to spend for Chelsea. The club knows very well what is my idea, what is my ambition. That is very clear. 

"That ambition must always be the same. When you decide to work with this type of coach, you must understand that you take a coach with great ambition. Not a loser but a winner. For this reason, you must understand this.”

Conte has cast an envious glance up north as his opponent this weekend - Pep Guardiola - has been able to splash the cash on the likes of Kyle Walker, Aymeric Laporte and Bernardo Silva in recent transfer windows.

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Those acquisitions have helped the Citizens to the summit of the table with a seemingly insurmountable 16-point lead, and Conte used Guardiola's club as an example of what happens when a manager is back in the market by his hierarchy.

He added: “When you have a good manager and a lot of money to spend, probably you can have a successful season. 

“It is very important to have the coach and the club with the same ambition: to improve the team, to improve the idea of football, to improve the quality of your players. 

"If you find this situation, probably the season will finish with success. You can win the league, the cup, the cup and league, the Champions League.”

Conte has been warned by Chelsea's board about speaking out over monetary issues and this latest thinly-veiled attack will not go down well.