How they did it (and threw it all away): Conte and Inter part ways after long-awaited Scudetto win

What an excellent season for Inter! After years of wandering in the wilderness, the Nerazzurri fought off the challenge of their city rivals AC Milan and under-performing Juventus to seal the Scudetto in style with four matches to spare.

It's a fantastic achievement for Antonio Conte and his team. It's not that they haven't got a quality team – but it's the former Juve and Chelsea manager who made the side tick and win relentlessly. But as it often happens with the club from Stadio Giuseppe Meazza – trouble is just around the corner.

Unpleasent reports emerged on Tuesday saying that Conte is set to leave Inter within the next few days.

Martinez and his coach Antonio Conte get into a fistfight! Honestly!

And the reason? Well, you can easily guess it. Poor finances. Inter are in severe financial trouble and could be forced to sell a number of their key players and offer wage reductions in the coming months. Conte was alleged to have been furious when he was told this by club president Steven Zhang last week.

Around 70 per cent of the club is owned by Suning Holdings Group, a Chinese company founded by Steven Zhang's father. Since taking over the Italian club in 2016, the money influx was steady, and Inter were allowed to sign big-name players despite never coming close to dethroning Juventus. But Gazzetta dello Sport broke the news that Inter will now have to reduce its wage bill and sort its balance sheet. Ideally, they would achieve this by offloading unwanted players like Joao Mario, Dalbert, Radja Nainggolan and others. But things are rarely ideal here.

The wait is finally over for the Nerazzurri (©AFP)

Without assurances of keeping the title-winning side, Antonio Conte had no choice but to ask Zhang to leave. It's a culmination of a storm that's been brewing for at least a month. Antonio is already arranging the details of his contract termination.

Conte has proved once again that he's the man to bring you titles. In his first season in charge of the black and blues, the former Italy international finished second, gained the momentum necessary to go again and powered through to give the club only the first title in a decade. And he certainly knows his worth. Speaking after the season finished, he indulged in a bit of self-congratulation.

"I dedicate the Scudetto to myself because I know that in any case, it has not been an easy path in these two years. I had to get everything out of myself. There have also been times when I have doubted things and doubted myself, but we have been strong enough to go beyond everything. We have all been good, even me. We have collected 91 points, scored more than 90 goals. The best defence, the second-best attack, it means having done something beautiful and important."

Striking partnership: Lautaro Martinez and Romelu Lukaku (©AFP)

And it was beautiful.

Inter suffered only three league defeats all season, with the last of them coming only after the Scudetto had already been won. Although AC Milan were the unlikely leaders for the first half of the season, a remarkable 20-match unbeaten run in the league between 10 January and 12 May ensured a classy and dominant return to the throne and the club's 19th national title.

Former Chelsea, Everton and Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku led the team's forward line with 24 goals and 11 assists. Big Rom was again at his very best as he tormented defenders up and down the country. Argentinean forward Lautaro Martinez added another 17 goals to the cause, forming a lethal partnership with the Belgian. At the back, captain goalkeeper Samir Handanovic and defenders Alessandro Bastoni, Milan Skriniar and Stefan de Vrij kept it tight. They allowed fullbacks Achraf Hakimi and Ashley Young to venture forward and combine with the well-oiled midfield machine consisting of Nicolo Barella, Marcelo Brozovic and former Tottenham ace Christian Eriksen. The team played well, showed quality and strong character in almost every game. Despite crashing out of the Champions League and Coppa Italia, the fans didn't worry too much because it's the national title they really wanted and it's what they've ultimately got.

It was beautiful. And it seems it's all over already.