Mauricio Pochettino leaves Chelsea after one season as coach

Mauricio Pochettino has left Chelsea by mutual consent after one season in charge, the club confirmed in a statement on Tuesday.

Sources tell us that Pochettino, 52, left after 48 hours of talks with partner Bedard Egbali, joint sporting director Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart.

Pochettino also publicly confirmed that he had dinner with partner Todd Boley on Friday. In his only season, he led Chelsea to a sixth-place finish in the Premier League, League Cup final and FA Cup semi-finals.

Sources insist the decision was an amicable one despite Pochettino still having one year left on his contract.

Stewart and Winstanley said in a club statement: “On behalf of everyone at Chelsea, we would like to thank Mauricio for his service this season. He will always be welcome at Stamford Bridge and we wish him all the best for his future coaching career.”

Pochettino said: “I would like to thank the Chelsea ownership group and sporting director for giving me the opportunity to be part of the club’s history. The club is now in a good position to move forward in the Premier League and European competitions in the future.” ”

Pochettino’s coaching staff – Jesus Perez, Miguel D’Agostino, Toni Jimenez and Sebastiano Pochettino – have also left the club.

Sources tell us there are internal divisions within the Chelsea hierarchy over whether to keep Pochettino, having remained mid-table despite spending £1bn ($1.27bn) on new players since the Boehly-Clearlake Capital takeover in May 2022. level, but the team’s performance has been disappointing. -table.

Sources tell us that Boili is keen to keep Pochettino but Egbali wants to replace him with a new coach. Pochettino’s frustration with the uncertainty over his future was evident in his recent press conference, where he insisted it “wouldn’t be the end of the world” if he left Chelsea.

Sources told us the players were not informed of Pochettino’s departure until the club’s end-of-season review on Tuesday, despite celebrating with their families at the stadium following Sunday’s final-day win over Bournemouth.

The decision was taken following an end-of-season review by the club. The Blues have won five in a row and lost just one of their past 15 league games, but the frustration on both sides is palpable.

Sources say Chelsea expect to make faster progress under Pochettino given the heavy investment in players, while the Argentinian is concerned about the lack of clarity over the club’s day-to-day operations and future plans.

It is unclear who Chelsea will choose to replace Pochettino. Sources tell us the club could be looking for a young manager, with Kieran McKenna heavily linked after guiding Ipswich Town to their first Premier League appearance in 22 years.

Roberto De Zerbi is a free agent after leaving Brighton, while Sporting CP manager Ruben Amorim has previously attracted interest from a number of Premier League clubs, including West Ham United. Sources tell us Amorim, 39, is highly regarded at Stamford Bridge.

Sporting CP president Frederico Varandas insisted this week that Amorim will remain at the Portuguese club next season.