Antonio Conte delivered a cutting response to Diego Costa's inflammatory remarks during his pre-match press conference on Tuesday ahead of Napoli's Champions League encounter with Chelsea.
The Italian manager refused to engage directly with his former striker's personal jibes, instead offering a thinly veiled assessment of those criticising him.
"Honestly I'm not a person to lose energy reading what the people say in the paper," Conte stated.
"I know very well that around football, there are intelligent people, clever people and stupid people, so I don't lose my time to spend my time to read intelligent people or stupid people."
Antonio Conte hit back after comments from his former player Diego Costa
|REUTERS
Costa's scathing critique emerged during an appearance on John Obi Mikel's The Obi One Podcast last week, where the Brazilian-born former Spain international launched a blistering attack on his ex-manager's character.
"Conte's OK as a professional coach. But as a person, he's the worst thing you can have on a daily basis," Costa declared.
"He's a person who doesn't trust others, he thinks he knows everything. You don't enjoy training with him. He's always angry, always with a long face."
The striker then made his most provocative claim: "He probably doesn't have sex at home because he's a very bitter guy."
Diego Costa did not hold back when talking about Antonio Conte
|THE OBI ONE PODCAST
Costa also alleged that teammates shared his negative view, stating that while players wanted him to return to Stamford Bridge, "nobody liked him. That's why he didn't last long."
Conte swiftly countered Costa's version of events by revealing previously undisclosed details about the striker's commitment during their championship campaign.
"Diego Costa played with me one season, so I can talk about the football," the Napoli boss continued.
"I think we won together the league and he wanted to go away three times the same season. I know this."
The 56-year-old then distanced himself from any knowledge of Costa's subsequent trajectory, adding pointedly: "After Chelsea, I don't know what happened to him."
This revelation directly challenges Costa's portrayal of himself as a loyal servant forced out by an unreasonable manager.
Diego Costa was told he was not wanted at Chelsea by Antonio Conte
|PA
The verbal sparring comes at a particularly challenging moment for Conte, whose Napoli side suffered a 3-0 defeat to Juventus in Serie A on Sunday and faces a mounting injury crisis.
Wednesday's fixture at Stamford Bridge reunites Conte with the club where he and Costa lifted the Premier League trophy together in 2016-17.
Their working relationship collapsed spectacularly the following summer, with Costa going absent without leave before eventually completing a return to Atletico Madrid in January 2018.
"After Chelsea I don't know what happened to him." 👀
— Hayters TV (@HaytersTV) January 27, 2026
Antonio Conte FIRES BACK at Diego Costa after his scathing criticism of the former Chelsea manager 😳 pic.twitter.com/tbUDZDREOK
The forward subsequently had stints with Atletico Mineiro in Brazil, Wolves, Botafogo and Gremio as his career wound down.