Real Madrid have apparently broken off talks with Antonio Conte about the former Chelsea and Juventus manager succeeding Julen Lopetegui at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Los Blancos' president Florentino Perez has had his finger poised on the trigger to dismiss Lopetegui for some time, with the current manager seemingly signing his own death warrant after a humiliating 5-1 Clásico defeat on Sunday.
That defeat followed a record-breakingly bad start to life as Real Madrid manager, leaving his position near untenable and his dismissal a question of when rather than if.
With Lopetegui's exit imminent, Conte had been reported as his most likely successor, after being cleared to take over upon reaching a contract settlement with his last club, Chelsea, last week.