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.
Pochettino led a youthful Blues side to the Carabao Cup final and FA Cup semi-finals, and despite a season largely of struggles, ended the Premier League campaign with five successive wins to secure European football with a sixth-place finish.
Chelsea ended 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.”
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.”
Assistant coaches Jesus Perez, Miguel d’Agostino, Toni Jimenez and Sebastiano Pochettino also depart.
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 joint 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.”
Pochettino 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 Champions League final in 2019.
Ipswich’s Kieran McKenna, Leicester’s Enzo Maresca, Stuttgart’s Sebastian Hoeness and Girona head coach Michel are among the list of possible replacements, which also includes Brentford boss Thomas Frank.
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