LONDON: Antonio Conte called Jose Mourinho a “little man” and a “fake” before issuing an apparent challenge as the feud between two of the Premier League’s most high-profile managers intensified on Saturday.
Tensions were already simmering after two days of back-and-forth insults between the pair in news conferences.
Mourinho, the Manchester manager, started the spat on Thursday by saying he did not feel the need to behave like “a clown” on the touchline. Feeling that was a dig at him, Conte, the Chelsea manager, responded aggressively Friday by suggesting Mourinho was suffering from dementia because of the Portuguese’s behavior on the touchline earlier in his coaching career.
Mourinho then came out with the most explosive retort so far late Friday, saying he will never be “suspended for match-fixing.” Conte served a four-month touchline ban in 2012 for failing to report his knowledge of an incident of attempted match-fixing during his time as Siena manager in 2011.
The Italian was acquitted of any wrongdoing over the matter in 2016.
Conte’s latest dig at Mourinho came after Chelsea’s 0-0 draw at Norwich in the third round of the FA Cup. And it set up a potentially explosive meeting between the two coaches when United hosts Chelsea on Feb. 25 in the Premier League.
“The situation is very clear. I don’t have anything to clarify,” Conte said. “It will be the opportunity in the game against United when we go to Old Trafford. Me and him, face to face. I’m ready. I don’t know if he’s ready.”
Conte, 48, seemed unhappy with the 54-year-old Mourinho bringing up his past.
“I consider him a little man, I consider him a man with a very low profile,” Conte said. “When there are these types of comments, before (making them) you have to know very well the truth.
“Before you make this type of comment, before hurting another person, you must pay great attention. You show you are a little man. I know him very well in the past. In the past, he was a little man in many circumstances, is a little man in the present and, for sure, he will be a little man in the future.”
Conte was more scathing about Mourinho’s behavior, providing the example of Mourinho attending a news conference wearing a training top with the initials “CR” following Claudio Ranieri’s firing by Leicester in February last year.
“He criticized Ranieri for his English,” Conte said. “Then when Ranieri was sacked, he put on a shirt (with initials on) for Ranieri. He is a fake.
“If you want to fight a person, you try to kill this person. And then after two years, you try to help this person, because maybe it’s good for you, for your profile.”
“You are a fake”: Conte ramps up feud with ‘little man’ Mourinho
“You are a fake”: Conte ramps up feud with ‘little man’ Mourinho
Riyadh 2026: The gateway to LIV’s most global season yet
- We are the world’s golf league, says LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil
- Riyadh will host the LIV Golf League season opener for the second consecutive season
RIYADH: Under the lights of Riyadh Golf Club, LIV Golf begins its campaign from February 4 to 7 in the Kingdom’s capital, opening what is the most international season to date. With 14 events scheduled across 10 countries and five continents, LIV has doubled down on its ambition to position itself as golf’s leading global circuit outside the United States.
For LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil, that identity is no longer about staging tournaments in different timezones, but also about aligning more closely with the sport’s tradition. One of the league’s headline shifts for 2026 has been the switch from 54-hole events to 72 holes.
“The move to 72 holes was much talked about,” O’Neil said at the pre-season press conference. “For us, that was relatively simple. We want to make sure that our players are best prepared for the majors, that it’s not as much of a sprint, that our teams have a chance to recover after a tough day one.”
He added that the decision was also driven by the league’s commercial and broadcast momentum across several markets.
“With the overwhelming support we have seen in several of our markets, quite frankly, more content is better. More fans come in, more broadcast content social hospitality checks check,” O’Neil said.
Launched in 2022 after a great deal of fanfare, LIV Golf had initially differentiated itself from other golf tours with a shorter, more entertainment-led event model. This includes team competition, alongside individual scoring, concert programming and fan-focused activations.
After four campaigns with 54-holes, the shift back to 72 signals an attempt to preserve the golf identity while answering longstanding questions about competitive comparability with golf’s established tours.
Riyadh will now host the LIV Golf League season opener for the second consecutive season, following its debut under the night lights in February 2025. As the individual fund rises from $20 million to $22 million, and the team purse increases from $5 million to $8 million, LIV Golf is not backing down on its bid to showcase confidence and continuity as it enters its fifth season.
For the Kingdom, the role goes beyond simply hosting the opening event. Positioned at the crossroads of continents, Riyadh has become LIV’s gateway city — the place where the league sets its tone before exporting it across various locations across the world.
“Players from 26 countries? Think about that being even possible 10 years ago, 15 years ago, 20 years ago,” O’Neil said. “That there would be players from 26 countries good enough to play at an elite level globally, and there is no elite platform outside the U.S.”
The departure of Brooks Koepka from LIV and his return to the PGA Tour has inevitably raised questions around player movement and long-term sustainability. O’Neil, however, framed the decision as a matter of fit rather than fallout.
“If you are a global citizen and you believe in growing the game, that means getting on a plane and flying 20 hours,” he said. “That’s not for everybody. It isn’t.”
Despite the separation, O’Neil insisted there was no animosity.
“I love Brooks. I root for Brooks. I am hoping the best for him and his family,” he emphasised.
Attention now turns to the players who have reaffirmed their commitment to LIV Golf, including Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Cam Smith. Amid continued tensions with the DP World Tour and the sport’s traditional power centres, O’Neil insists the league’s focus remains inward.
“There is no holy war, at least from our side. We are about LIV Golf and growing the game globally,” he said.
From Riyadh to Adelaide, from Hong Kong to South Africa, LIV Golf’s 2026 calendar stretches further ever than before. As debate continues over the league’s place within the sport, LIV is preparing to show that its challenge to golf’s established order is not, as some doubters suggest, fading.
With the spotlight firmly on its fifth season, Riyadh will provide the first impression — the opening statement from which LIV Golf intends to show the world where it stands.
