“Respect is earned, not imposed,” said Sergio Ramos back in 2018. That was reported by The Mirror at the time and that statement came after the then Real Madrid captain was asked whether he would welcome an imposing manager at the Santiago Bernabeu, in this case referring to Antonio Conte.
That was four years ago but it appeared that Ramos’ fears of having to deal with the aggressive management style of the Italian were coming back to haunt him, with the current Tottenham Hotspur manager linked with the job at Paris Saint-Germain.
There’s good news for the Sevillano on that front however. Football Espana sources understand that Conte has not been in talks with PSG at this point and further to that point, is not responsible for the rumours. The source said this on the matter.
“There is an important detail to clarify: the rumours about Antonio Conte and Paris Saint-Germain do not come from Antonio’s camp. Certainly Leonardo knows him very well, but there is no negotiation underway now between Conte and Paris, still too early.”
“His priority is to get Champions League football with Tottenham and then reunite with Daniel Levy to decide his future.”
With indiscipline and a seemingly unsuccessful culture hurting PSG in the Champions League, it’s reasonable to wonder if a hard-nosed manager like Conte might not benefit the Parisians.
On the other side, it may antagonise the stars and with the likes of Lionel Messi and Neymar Junior in the squad, put their roles in doubt within Conte’s favoured structure.