Antonio Conte has resigned as manager of Italian champions Juventus in a statement via the club’s youtube channel, a day after the club began pre-season training and despite having just a year left on his contract.

Conte’s resignation comes amidst rumours of a disagreement between the Italian champions and the 44 year old over the club’s transfer business, with midfielders Paul Pogba and Arturo Vidal linked away from the club.

He also refused to comment on the vacant post in the Italian national team, stating ”I am thinking only about the present, about the decision [to resign].”

Club President Andrea Agnelli said in a statement on the Juventus website that ”you have been a great leader for our team and today’s news saddens me immensely. Barely two months have passed since our last major success and Juventus must continue on its path. We’ll start again from zero.”

Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon stated ”It is a surprise but on reading the statement it is a decision shared between the club and Conte”, adding ”without him the team loses a lot. Now it’s up to us to show that we’re strong even without him.”

The 44 year old manager joined Juventus in 2011 after leading Siena back to the Serie A from Serie B, going on to win the league title in his first season without defeat and reaching the Italian Cup final before losing to Napoli.

The former Juventus midfielder would retain the league title two more times as Juventus became the established force in Italian football and losing just seven of 114 league matches, but falling short in Europe following one quarter-final appearance in three seasons.