Manchester United manager has put an end to his verbal war of words with Chelsea boss Antonio Conte, saying now he will exercise “silence” after being challenged by the Blues head man yet again.
Mourinho began things by calling Conte a “clown,” referencing his touchline exuberance well known throughout the Premier League. Conte responded by saying Mourinho isn’t so innocent himself in that department, saying he must be having “senile dementia” and had maybe “forgotten his past.”
It continued as Mourinho escalated things further, recalling Conte’s ban for the massive match-fixing scandal at Juventus, something Conte was cleared of any wrongdoing in 2016. That, Mourinho says, cut deep in the Chelsea man.
‘The first time he insulted me I had a response,” Mourinho said Friday in his pre-match press conference ahead of Manchester United’s game against Stoke City on Monday. “A response that I know that touched the point where he really feels hurt.”
Conte responded to that my calling Mourinho a “small man” and “fake.” And now, Mourinho says he is finished with the back-and-forth.
“I think when a person insults another, you can expect a response, or you can expect contempt, silence,” Mourinho said. “He insulted me for a second time, but now I change, and now contempt and for me, contempt means end of the story.”
Manchester United and Chelsea meet next in Premier League play on February 25th, and it’s almost a guarantee this story will surface again before then, or at the very least in the buildup to that match. Whether Mourinho keeps his word on “silence” remains to be seen, as does whether Conte chooses to be silent as well, or if he will continue to speak out.
