Mauricio Pochettino has left Chelsea by mutual consent after meeting sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, and co-controlling owner Behdad Eghbali over the course of two days.
Telegraph Sport can reveal that Pochettino agreed to leave Chelsea late on Tuesday morning, following the club’s season review which started on Monday.
There is not thought to be any bad blood between Pochettino and Chelsea, who will immediately start their search for a replacement with a young and forward-thinking coach.
Names likely to be considered include Stuttgart’s Sebastian Hoeness, Girona’s Michel, Ipswich Town’s Kieran McKenna, who is drafted by Brighton, and Leicester City’s Enzo Maresca.
Pochettino had met co-controlling owner Todd Boehly for dinner last Friday evening, before spending several hours with Winstanley and Stewart and meeting with Eghbali on Monday and Tuesday.
It means Pochettino leaves Chelsea after one year of the two-year contract he signed last summer and is set to pocket a significant compensation fee.
Pochettino’s departure, described as ‘amicable’, makes him the third permanent head coach to lose his job under Clearlake Capital-Boehly’s ownership, after Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter.
Bruno Saltor managed Chelsea for one game last season before Frank Lampard took over as interim manager, meaning a total of five managers have worked under Chelsea’s current owners in two years.
A run of five consecutive wins at the end of this season saw Chelsea achieve European qualification under Pochettino, who also took the club to the Carabao Cup final and FA Cup semi-finals.
The Argentinian left with his head held high and his reputation intact. But according to key figures at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea’s season overall fell short of pre-season expectations and brought with it problems such as the crippling injury list.
Pochettino said: “Thank you to the Chelsea ownership group and sporting directors for the opportunity to be part of the history of this football club. The club is now well positioned to continue to progress in the Premier League and Europe in the coming years.”
Chelsea confirmed the exclusive status of Telegraph Sport and also announced that Pochettino’s coaching staff, Jesus Perez, Miguel d’Agostino, Toni Jimenez and Sebastiano Pochettino, have left the club.
Sporting directors Winstanley and Stewart said: “On behalf of everyone at Chelsea we would like to thank Mauricio for his service this season. He is welcome at Stamford Bridge at any time and we wish him all the best in his future coaching career.”
Pochettino is expected to return to Stamford Bridge immediately if he accepts an invitation to coach in a charity match next month.
The 52-year-old Argentinian was named to take charge of a Soccer Aid World XI against an England squad at Chelsea’s ground on Sunday, June 9, to raise money for Unicef.
His appointed co-coach for the match is former Chelsea right-hander Jesus Perez and among the players already selected for the World XI are former Stamford Bridge favorite Eden Hazard, ex-Brazilian left-back Roberto Carlos and sprinting legend Usain Bolt.
The England squad is led by another former Chelsea coach Frank Lampard, along with Harry Redknapp, David Seaman and Robbie Williams. Their line-up features a wide mix of sports stars and celebrities, including distance runner Sir Mo Farah, ex-Chelsea players Joe Cole and Gary Cahill, comedian Paddy McGuinness and retired England women’s international Jill Scott.
More to follow…
Live reaction continues below…
8:41pm BST
Parting
And that’s all from our live coverage of the big news from the Bridge tonight, broken exclusively by Telegraph Sport’s Matt Law. His report above will be updated as new information becomes available.
8:38pm BST
Immediate return for Poch
It has just been hinted here that Pochettino will be back at the Bridge soon… as he has been invited to coach in a charity match next month, taking charge of a Soccer Aid World XI against an England squad on June 9 the Chelsea ground. .
The England side is led by another former Chelsea coach, Frank Lampard.
8:35pm BST
Revolving door
The club will undoubtedly be looking for a replacement for Pochettino and it is believed they will want to get a deal done competitively.
The new man becomes the third permanent head coach to be appointed under the ownership of Clearlake Capital-Boehly, after Graham Potter and Pochettino. Considering Bruno Saltor managed them for one game last season and Frank Lampard had an interim spell, the next manager will be the sixth to have worked under Chelsea’s owners in two years (including Thomas Tuchel, who was there when they arrived) .
8:19pm BST
Merson enters
The Arsenal legend shares his thoughts on today’s news:
8:16pm BST
Potential successors part 3
Matt Law writes:
Brentford’s Thomas Frank is another manager Chelsea will have on their candidate list, but Vincent Kompany, who was on the three-man shortlist before Pochettino’s appointment, is not considered of interest at the moment.
8:12pm BST
Potential successors part 2
The other two that Matt Law mentioned in his earlier report (hang on, another one was just mentioned, but we’ll get to that soon…) are two coaches from abroad:
Sebastian Hoeness is being touted as Germany’s next great young manager after taking Stuttgart from relegation fodder to second place this season. However, that means he will be playing Champions League football in the Bundesliga next season, something Chelsea cannot offer.
Girona’s Michel, who had a modest playing career mainly at Rayo Vallecano, has won three promotions from the Spanish second tier with three different clubs in a six-year managerial career, taking tiny Girona to third place in La Liga this season.
8:08pm BST
Potential successors part 1
So who are the four coaches Matt Law mentions as potential successors to Pochettino?
Let’s start by looking at the two possible candidates from England.
Ipswich Town’s Kieran McKenna, who has also been drafted by Brighton as a potential replacement for Roberto De Zerbi, led the Tractor Boys to back-to-back promotions from League One to the Premier League with essentially the same squad that was assembled in the Premier League. third level. Telegraph Sport’s chief football correspondent Jason Burt did this interview with the former Man Utd coach earlier this season.
Leicester City’s Enzo Maresca, a disciple of Pep Guardiola, just led the Midlands side to an immediate return to the Premier League and the Championship title. John Percy spoke to the Italian about his football philosophy in this interview.
7:53pm BST
The story from within
Here’s the inside story on how Pochettino’s departure was sealed during 24 hours of talks between the Chelsea hierarchy.
Telegraph Sport football news correspondent Matt Law says philosophical differences and a desire to avoid a messy ending led to an amicable split between the two sides
Read the full article here.
7:48pm BST
Morgan responds to our news
7:42pm BST
Who’s next on the hot seat?
Matt Law has written about what Chelsea expect from their next head coach – and who the candidates could be.
Read the full article here.
7:30pm BST
More from Chelsea
The club have also said that Jesus Perez, Miguel d’Agostino, Toni Jimenez and Sebastiano Pochettino have left.
They added that they “will make no further comment until a new head coach is appointed.”
7:24pm BST
Poch speaks
Also on the official Chelsea website they published this quote from Pochettino:
Thank you to the Chelsea ownership group and sporting directors for the opportunity to be part of the history of this football club. The club is now well positioned to continue to progress in the Premier League and Europe in the coming years.
7:23pm BST
What Chelsea said
The club posted on their official website:
Chelsea FC can confirm that the Club and Mauricio Pochettino have mutually agreed to part ways.
Sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley said: “On behalf of everyone at Chelsea we would like to thank Mauricio for his service this season. He is welcome at Stamford Bridge at any time and we wish him all the best in his future coaching career.”
7:20pm BST
Official confirmation from Chelsea
Chelsea have now confirmed that Matt Law has joined Telegraph Sport exclusively…
Club statement: Mauricio Pochettino
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) May 21, 2024
7:16pm BST
Structural problems
Pochettino is leaving despite seeing a revival in recent months, with Chelsea in the top four since the new year. He even secured European football for a side that languished in mid-table for much of the season, but ultimately it seemed that an unwillingness to work within the club structure was the key.
7:08pm BST
Two-day meeting sealed decision
Telegraph’s Sport’s Matt Law has broken this massive exclusivity. He revealed that the Argentine’s future would be decided at the club’s end-of-season review, which started on Monday and took effect this morning.
6:55pm BST
Boehly ate and drank Pochettino last week
Last Friday, Todd Boehly, one of Chelsea’s co-owners, dined with Pochettino. However, the manager refused to reveal what was discussed during that dinner.
Curiously, the matchday program for the final match of Chelsea’s Premier League campaign made no mention of the Argentine at all.
“All I can tell you is that Todd invited me to dinner on Friday evening and it was a very nice dinner together,” Pochettino said after the final match. “But I don’t know about the rumors about the review. My staff is flying on holiday tomorrow. I’ll stay in London for a few more days. I’m always open. My phone is on.”
When asked what was discussed during his dinner with Boehly, Pochettino replied: “I’m not going to explain. It’s only for you to know that I was with him. I’m not going to talk about this. If I invite you, and you and I have dinner, it won’t be for bad things. I do not believe that.”