Antonio Conte has dismissed Diego Costa’s stinging criticism of his management style, insisting he has no interest in engaging with his former Chelsea striker’s accusations.

The Napoli head coach was responding to remarks Costa made in a recent appearance on The Obi One Podcast, hosted by ex-Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel. Costa described Conte as “a very bitter guy” and claimed players at Stamford Bridge “didn’t like him,” despite the pair winning the Premier League together in the 2016-17 season.

Conte, speaking at a news conference before Napoli’s Champions League meeting with Chelsea, made clear he would not be drawn into a war of words.

“Honestly, I’m not a person that loses energy reading what people say or not,” Conte said. “Around football there are intelligent people, clever people and stupid people. I don’t lose or spend my time reading intelligent people or stupid people.”

He then offered a pointed reminder of their shared success and a hint at the tensions that marked Costa’s final months in London.

“Diego Costa played with me one season. I can speak about football and we won the league together. Then he wanted to go away three times in the same season, I know all this. After Chelsea, I don’t know what happened to him.”

Costa joined Chelsea from Atlético Madrid in 2014 and became one of the Premier League’s most feared forwards, scoring 59 goals in 120 appearances and winning two league titles. Yet his relationship with the club – and with Conte – deteriorated as he repeatedly pushed for a return to Atlético.

He was dropped by Conte in January 2017 after a training-ground dispute amid interest from Chinese Super League side Tianjin Quanjian. That summer, with Álvaro Morata arriving at Stamford Bridge, Costa chose to remain in Brazil rather than rejoin Chelsea’s squad, later accusing the club of treating him “like a criminal” before finally sealing his move back to Atlético in January 2018.

On the podcast, Costa doubled down on his personal criticism of Conte, portraying him as distrustful and perpetually angry, but ended with a backhanded farewell: “The past is the past, it is a shame. The titles he won at Chelsea, he won it with me for his bad luck. I wish him all the best with his life.”

Conte, who added an FA Cup to his Chelsea honours and has since lifted Serie A titles with Inter Milan and Napoli, appears content to let his record speak louder than any personal feud.