Antonio Conte and Chelsea have come to an agreement on the termination of his £9.5million contract, paving the way for the Italian to move to Real Madrid.
Reports in his native Italy indicate that the two sides have come to a compromise, with this contractual dispute being a major stumbling block in his potential appointment at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Conte received close to a £10million payout when he was dismissed by the West London club during the summer, being replace by compatriot Maurizio Sarri. However, that money would have to be returned had he taken another job this season.
Conte had become disenchanted with the Chelsea board in the final months of his tenure, and was seemingly unwilling to take another managers role if it meant having reimbursing his former club.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid had made their interest in his services known. The Spanish club have endured a terrible start to the season, finding themselves in seventh place in La Liga. Despite having only been appointed in the summer, Julen Lopetegui seems certain to lose his job.
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Having suffered three defeats on the spin, he was given a brief reprieve after an unconvincing 2-1 victory over Viktoria Plzen in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
With El Clasico taking place this weekend, most reports indicate that his fate has already been decided. Regardless of the result against a Messi-less Barcelona, it is expected he will be dismissed early next week.
This seems even more likely now that the club are free to appoint Antonio Conte, who has come to a compromise with Chelsea that will see his contract terminated.
If he does indeed take the Real Madrid job, he will inherit a squad that seems in desperate need of an overhaul. The team has massively underperformed this season, and many key members of the squad are entering the tail-end of their careers.
Conte produced a drastic turnaround in his first season at Chelsea, and Florentino Perez will be hoping he can repeat that feat in the Spanish capital.
