MAURICIO Pochettino has left Chelsea after one season in charge after they “mutually agreed to part ways”.
Pochettino, 52, led Chelsea to a a sixth-place finish in the Premier League and to the EFL Cup final and FA Cup semi-finals.
Former Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur manager Pochettino took over at Stamford Bridge last July when he signed a two-year contract with the option of another year.
Pochettino said: “Thank you to the Chelsea ownership group and sporting directors for the opportunity.
“The club is now well-positioned to keep moving forward in the Premier League and Europe in the years to come.”
The Blues posted a brief four-sentence statement on their website. “On behalf of everyone at Chelsea, we would like to express our gratitude to Mauricio for his service this season,” sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley said.
“He will be welcome back to Stamford Bridge any time and we wish him all the very best in his future coaching career.”
Pochettino’s back-up staff of Jesus Perez, Miguel d’Agostino, Toni Jimenez and Sebastiano Pochettino – Pochettino’s son – have also left the Blues.
Pochettino had been under pressure for the majority of the season as the Blues were in the bottom half of the league table until March.
Pochettino was criticised after their 1-0 defeat to an understrength and youthful Liverpool in the League Cup final, after which Gary Neville called them “billion-pound bottle jobs”.
Chelsea controversially lost 1-0 in the FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City, when they appeared to be denied a clear penalty when Cole Palmer’s free-kick struck the arm of Jack Grealish.
In their statement, Chelsea said they would be making “no further comment” until they appointed a new head coach.
Chelsea have been linked with Roberto De Zerbi – who left Brighton at the end of the season – Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna, and Sporting Lisbon’s Ruben Amorim.
