Richard Keys has claimed that Cristiano Ronaldo’s presence at Manchester United is the only reason that Antonio Conte did not take over at Old Trafford.
Conte was heavily linked with the Man Utd job back in October when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was coming under pressure, with some reports even claiming at the time that the Italian was keen on becoming the Red Devils boss (Guardian).
However, it was United who ensured that Spurs moved quickly to replace Nuno Espirito Santo with the Italian after they thrashed the North Londoners 3-0 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Solskjaer was eventually sacked by the club in November and replaced by Ralf Rangnick as interim head coach.
If reports over recent weeks are to be believed, former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino is the favourite to replace the German as the next United boss at the end of the season (ESPN).
However, Keys has suggested that United could poach Conte from Spurs in the summer if Ronaldo leaves the club.
Here’s what the beIN SPORTS presenter tweeted:
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Since many journalists and media outlets did not perceive Conte’s appointment at Spurs as a good fit, there is a large element of confirmation bias with their insistence that the Italian might not last for long at the club.
They are thus viewing every single one of Conte’s statements through that lens. So, the 52-year-old’s strong rebuttal to the media in his press conference on Friday (Football.London) was certainly very welcome from a Tottenham standpoint.
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