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LONDON. – Antonio Conte reportedly held talks with Real Madrid president Florentino Perez just hours after the Clasico defeat by Barcelona on Sunday. Conte is the favourite to become the new Real Madrid manager with Julen Lopetegui set to be sacked after the 5-1 defeat by Barcelona on Sunday. The Italian, who left Chelsea in the summer after two years at Stamford Bridge, is keen to take the job and held talks with the Real Madrid president, Florentino Pérez, on Sunday.

The 49-year-old has a legal dispute to settle with Chelsea and, if that proves a stumbling block, Real are likely to turn to Santiago Solari.

Real, however, remain confident that Conte will be in a position to accept the job and hope to announce the change of manager soon.

Lopetegui, who replaced Zinedine Zidane in the summer, had been expected to be relieved of his duties last week after a home defeat to Levante but earned a stay of execution to oversee a narrow 2-1 win over Viktoria Plzen in the Champions League on Tuesday.

His days were numbered, however, and the painful defeat at Camp Nou on Sunday left his team in ninth place, seven points behind Barcelona. – The Daily Express.