Conte staying at Inter

Antonio Conte will continue at the helm of Inter Milan next season, the club confirmed on Tuesday, only days after the fiery Italian hinted he was ready to quit.

Conte held a "constructive meeting focused on continuity and strategy" with club president Steven Zhang and team management which lasted just over three hours in a villa outside Milan.

Inter opted for continuity after finishing second just one point behind champions Juventus, with the Chinese owners also confirming confidence in the management team.

Conte will now lead the club's bid to topple Juventus with coaching novice Andrea Pirlo having replaced Maurizio Sarri as coach at the nine-time reigning Serie A champions.

The 51-year-old Conte's departure was being heralded following an outburst after Inter Milan's 3-2 Europa League final defeat to Sevilla last week.

"It has been a very tough season from all points of view, the best decision must be taken for the good of Inter, with the utmost cordiality. I didn't like some situations," said Conte.

Conte took over in May 2019 on a three-year contract worth a reported 12 million euros a season.

But his relationship with club management and CEO Giuseppe Marotta in particular was reported to be tense.

On the final day of the domestic season Conte slammed the fact that players had been offered "little protection from the club".

"I don't want another year like that."

Marotta, however, insisted last week that "everything was forgotten" after Conte's heated criticism.