Two players threatened to leave Tottenham if Antonio Conte stayed

Cristian Romero and Richarlison were both considering leaving Tottenham if Antonio Conte had stayed at the club, according to reports in Argentina.

Conte tore into his Spurs players in the aftermath of their 3-3 draw with Southampton as he branded them ‘selfish’ and accused them of not wanting to ‘play under pressure’.

Tottenham’s hierarchy ultimately decided that Conte’s position was untenable, and the club announced on Sunday evening that the Italian had left ‘by mutual consent’.

Signs of friction between the Tottenham squad and Conte were evident this month, with Richarlison openly criticising the 53-year-old in the wake of their Champions League exit to AC Milan.

And now, Argentine journalist Gaston Edul, who has a close relationship with several players in the national side, has revealed that both Romero and Richarlison were weighing up their future at Spurs if the club’s hierarchy had opted to keep Conte in place for the remainder of the season.

‘Conte’s relationship with the squad was very bad, it’s needless to say, it’s something that we could see in his words,’ Edul told TyC Sports.

‘Some players had given an ultimatum in case he continued. Now the outlook of Tottenham changed.’

When it was suggested that Romero was one of the players who issued the ultimatum, Edul added: ‘Yes, I say that because we can say it, in fact we waited to say it.

‘Cristian Romero was rethinking about his stay at the club if Conte remained.

‘As I understand it, the same thing happened with Richarlison.

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