- Mauricio Pochettino guided Chelsea to sixth place in his first season in charge
- But, he has now left the club by mutual consent after an end-of-season review
- IAN LADYMAN: The Premier League title race went to the wire, it is not boring compared to other European leagues! – Listen to the It’s All Kicking Off! podcast
Mauricio Pochettino has left Chelsea by mutual consent after a single season in charge.
The 52-year-old Argentine was subjected to an internal review – led by sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart as well as co-controlling owner Behdad Eghbali – in the aftermath of their 2-1 win over Bournemouth on the campaign’s final day.
That confirmed a sixth-placed finish in the Premier League which will carry them into Europe next season, but insiders say Chelsea are now targeting a ‘young’ coach as a replacement for Pochettino. Ipswich’s Kieran McKenna is one of those being considered.
Pochettino had dinner with owner-chairman Todd Boehly in London on Friday – the night before the final game of the season – but was offered no assurances over what would happen to him in the next week.
In meetings with Winstanley, Stewart and Eghbali on Monday and Tuesday, it was agreed that the manager and club should part ways despite his contract still having a year to run.
Mauricio Pochettino has left Chelsea by mutual consent after a single season in charge
The former Tottenham boss departs Stamford Bridge halfway through his two-year contract
The 52-year-old Argentine was subjected to an internal review – led by sporting directors Paul Winstanley (left) and Laurence Stewart (right) as well as co-controlling owner Behdad Eghbali
After the decision was made, sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley told the club’s official website: ‘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 added: ‘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.’
Coaches Jesus Perez, Miguel d’Agostino, Toni Jimenez and Sebastiano Pochettino have also left the club.
The decision to dispense with Pochettino comes despite Chelsea’s strong end to the season where they finished sixth after five wins in their final five games to secure European football for next season.
Pochettino also guided the Blues to the Carabao Cup final, but was criticised after they lost to a heavily-depleted Liverpool side in extra time.
The 52-year-old also took Chelsea to the semi-finals of the FA Cup and leaves the club having won 27 of his 51 games in charge.
The season hadn’t come without challenges though, with Chelsea as low as 11th after a dismal 4-2 home defeat to Wolves on February 4, but there were significant signs of progress under the Argentine in recent months.
Pochettino becomes the third manager to leave Chelsea since the Todd Boehly-led consortium took over the club in May 2022, with Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter both sacked last season.
Reflecting on his dinner with Boehly last Friday, Pochettino hinted after Sunday’s final day victory over Bournemouth that the future was positive.
‘It was a very nice dinner together. If I invited you alone and you are me and we have a dinner, it’s not for a bad thing, no?
‘If I need to tell something (bad) I call by phone or say: “Let’s go for a coffee”.’
Chelsea are targeting a ‘young’ coach as a replacement for Pochettino, with Ipswich’s Kieran McKenna one of those being considered after guiding Ipswich to back-to-back promotions
Pochettino had dinner with co-owner Todd Boehly but received no assurances over his future
Pochettino’s exit comes despite Chelsea ending the season with five successive victories
Under Pochettino, Chelsea invested heavily again in the transfer market, with the likes of Cole Palmer, Moises Caicedo, Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku among those to join in a £400m-plus spending spree ahead of the campaign.
He improved several of the Blues young stars as the campaign went on, with Chelsea’s impressive end a part of a run of one defeat in their final 15 league games.
Their 63 points was also a 19 point improvement on last season, which was the biggest improvement of any club in the top flight.
Pochettino has also managed Espanyol, Southampton, Tottenham and PSG and it remains to be seen what is next for the Argentine.
