Antonio Conte does not look amused during the prank. (Source: Screengrab)
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte’s pre-match press conference was briefly interrupted on Thursday when he was presented a Manchester United jersey with his own name at the back signed by the Red Devils manager Jose Mourinho.
Conte became victim to the prank planned by Italian satirical programme Le Iene presenters Stefano Corti and Alessandro Onnis. Corti approached the front desk where Conte was sitting and asked him to answer a question replayed on his Tabloid in Italian.
The Chelsea manager, however, did not look impressed as he stared at the screen. “Antonio, we sent you a messenger. A present for you from your brand new friend, Jose Mourinho! He told us he loves you. Look at what he has written on the present he sent out for you: ‘Your friend, Jose.’ Can you promise us that next time you play against him you will share a sign of peace? Come on, Antonio…you will be friends forever,” Corti’s fellow pranksters said in the video.
Antonio Conte’s face when presented with a Manchester United shirt signed by Jose Mourinho. #CFC pic.twitter.com/ErYxzqDOJo
— The Blues (@TheBlues___) 15 February 2018
Conte managed to smile and said that he had nothing to say in response, before Corti said: “This is a present for you. It is signed by Jose Mourinho – ‘To my friend Antonio’. Long live friendship… shall I leave it to you.” He then placed the shirt on Conte’s desk.
The pranksters had last month approached Mourinho outside the Lowry Hotel in Manchester and got him to sign the shirt. When Mourinho found out, the Old Trafford boss laughed off the prank.
Tensions between the two Premier League bosses escalated in January when the Italian coach called Mourinho ‘little man’ with a ‘very low profile’ and ‘fake’.
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