Conte PSG rumors now include an Instagram crackdown

Antonio Conte [AP/YONHAP]

Rumors that Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte is thinking of moving to greener Parisian pastures continued to circulate on Tuesday, with French media reporting that the Italian manager is looking to double his current salary and crack down on players’ social media habits.

The rumors stem from unconfirmed reports that Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain are planning to fire manager Mauricio Pochettino, and that Conte has put himself forward to take over the position next season.

Pochettino’s tenure at PSG has not been terrible — the club have once again secured the Ligue 1 title — but it certainly has not lived up to fans' expectations. PSG failed to win the Champions League, the French Cup or the French Super Cup, leaving French media confident the league win alone will not save Pochettino’s job.

With Pochettino’s departure seen as a sure thing, the question turns to who will replace him at the helm of the French giants. French newspaper Le Parisien reported over the weekend that Conte has offered himself up for the job, which would see him leave Spurs after only about eight months with the London club.

Tuesday’s reports add a few more facts to Conte’s rumored offer to PSG: That he wants to double his current salary of £13 million ($16 million) and he wants the club to hire a social media director to oversee — and presumably limit and control — the players’ use of services like Instagram.

If true, the Instagram comments are presumably in response to major PSG players like Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi, who are very active on social media and may sometimes portray themselves in ways that Conte feels distracts from the football.

As always, there’s no confirmation that any of the rumors are true. If Conte has reached out to PSG, it’s just as likely that he’s planning to use the noise to leverage his position at Spurs in the coming transfer window.

Pochettino is also still under contract, and PSG will have to play roughly £12 million to release him early.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]