Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino has left his role by mutual consent, the Premier League club have announced; the 52-year-old Argentinian, who had only been in the job for 11 months, guided Chelsea to a sixth-placed finish in the Premier League this season
Mauricio Pochettino has left Chelsea by mutual consent after just one season in charge.
Pochettino led his youthful squad to the Carabao Cup final and the FA Cup semi-finals, and despite a season largely of struggles, ended the Premier League campaign with five successive wins and secured European football with a sixth-place finish. Chelsea had finished the previous campaign 12th.
A statement released on Tuesday read: “Chelsea FC can confirm that the club and Mauricio Pochettino have mutually agreed to part ways.”
Assistant coaches Jesus Perez, Miguel d’Agostino, Toni Jimenez and Sebastiano Pochettino have also departed.
Pochettino said: “Thank you to the Chelsea ownership group and Sporting Directors for the opportunity to be part of this football club’s history. The club is now well positioned to keep moving forward in the Premier League and Europe in the years to come.”
The 52-year-old Argentinian, who had only been in the job for 11 months, was appointed last May after a lengthy recruitment process, replacing interim manager Frank Lampard, who arrived following Graham Potter’s sacking in April 2023.
Chelsea spent more than £400m on new signings – many of them under the age of 25 – during the summer but also sold nearly £250m worth of players, with senior members of the dressing room such as Cesar Azpilicueta, N’Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic all leaving.
After a final day win against Bournemouth on Sunday, Pochettino said he did not know whether Chelsea would be conducting a reported end-of-season review to decide his future, but following talks on Monday, a decision was taken that he would step down.
The club’s sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley said: “On behalf of everyone at Chelsea, we would like to express our gratitude to Mauricio for his service this season.
“He will be welcome back to Stamford Bridge any time and we wish him all the very best in his future coaching career.”
The 51-year-old arrived after a year out of work. He previously won Ligue 1 during an 18-month spell with Paris Saint-Germain and spent more than five years in charge of Tottenham, reaching the 2019 Champions League final.
Ipswich’s Kieran McKenna, Leicester’s Enzo Maresca, Stuttgart’s Sebastian Hoeness and Girona boss Michel are reportedly on the Blues’ list of possible replacements.
Pochettino is due to manage the World XI at Soccer Aid for the second year running in early June, with the charity match taking place at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge home.
SOURCE: SKY SPORTS NEWS
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