Former FIGC president Carlo Tavecchio has revealed that Antonio Conte would’ve stayed on as Italy manager had he been given a salary increase. Conte left the Italian job to take over as Chelsea manager after Euro 2016, but Tavecchio revealed that the former had asked for a 2.5 million euro hike (4m to 6.5m) in salary that was declined by the FIGC>
Tavecchio has also said that he regretted the decision, saying that Italy would’ve probably been at the World Cup if Conte was in charge. The Azzurri were then coached by Ventura, under whom they lost their playoff to Sweden.
Ventura was criticised for not playing Lorenzo Insigne and Tavecchio said that he tried to indirectly hint to the former that the Napoli star had to be played, saying that “30,000 people from Naples had come to see the game”