Mourinho says Conte feud over ahead of FA Cup final

London, May 18

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Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho says the bitter feud between himself and Chelsea counterpart Antonio Conte has ended ahead of the sides’ meeting in Saturday’s FA Cup final. The duo have been involved in a war of words since the 2016-17 season, when Mourinho criticised Conte for celebrating wildly after Chelsea’s 4-0 win over United, while the Italian accused his Portuguese rival of being obsessed with the Blues.

The feud continued into this season as Mourinho labelled the Italian’s touchline manner as clown-like and alluded to a match-fixing allegation against the former Juventus boss, which he was cleared of in Italy.

Conte, in turn, described former Chelsea manager Mourinho as a “little man” and “a fake”. “It’s okay. It’s okay. He stretched out (to shake hands), I stretched out. We got bored,” Mourinho said. “After the game in Manchester, I invited him to come to my office. We talked. Nothing’s wrong.”

Mourinho previously managed Chelsea for five seasons across two stints before joining United in 2016.

The Portuguese boss led United to a second-placed league finish this season, while Conte has fared worse, with defending champions Chelsea ending the campaign in fifth and failing to qualify for the Champions League.

The pair will face off once again when United aim to win a record-equalling 13th FA Cup at Wembley on Saturday.

Chelsea’s seventh and most recent FA Cup triumph was under Roberto Di Matteo in 2012, and the London outfit were defeated in last year’s final by Arsenal.

It is also an opportunity for United to claim their third major trophy under Mourinho, having won the Europa League and League Cup last season. 

Wenger still in shock

Arsene Wenger admits he is still in shock after the curtain finally came down on his 22-year-reign as Arsenal manager and said he will decide by the start of the World Cup as to do next. The 68-year-old Frenchman said he hadn’t discounted taking on a different role. 

“It’s just too soon to know what I will do next,” he said. “I haven’t even emptied my desk yet and in a way I am still in a state of shock. I am going to give myself until June 14, the day the World Cup begins, to decide.” — Reuters