Mauricio Pochettino leaves Chelsea by mutual consent

Mauricio Pochettino has left his position as Chelsea head coach by mutual consent after less than 11 months in charge.

Chelsea’s decision to part ways with the 52-year-old Argentine comes following the conclusion of an internal review into the club’s 2023-24 season performance led by co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart.

In a Chelsea statement, Winstanley and Stewart said of the decision: “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 has said of his exit: “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.”

Pochettino’s coaching staff members Jesus Perez, Miguel d’Agostino, Toni Jimenez and Sebastiano Pochettino have also left the club.

Chelsea beat Bournemouth 2-1 on the final day of the season in what proved to be Pochettino’s final game in charge to secure a sixth-placed finish in the Premier League and ensure that European football will return to Stamford Bridge for the 2024-25 campaign.

Chelsea endured a difficult start to the campaign under Pochettino — winning just one of their opening six Premier League matches — but endured a sharp upturn in form in the closing months of the campaign.

A 4-2 defeat at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers on February 4 left Chelsea outside the top half of the Premier League table, but Pochettino’s side lost just one of their following 15 league matches and won each of their last five to secure European qualifiication.

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Pochettino became Chelsea’s sixth permanent manager in five years following the sacking of Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter last season, which led to Frank Lampard taking charge on a temporary basis.

Chelsea spent over £400million ($507m) ahead of Pochettino’s debut season in charge in a summer of squad overhaul.

The west London club were beaten in the final of the Carabao Cup by Liverpool and exited the FA Cup at the semi-final stage to Manchester City.

Chelsea finished the 2023-24 Premier League season with 63 points; with their 19-point increase from last season more than any other club in the division.

Pochettino began his managerial career at Espanyol, where he spent nine years as a player in two separate spells.

He spent 16 months as head coach of Southampton in his first Premier League job before taking over at Tottenham Hotspur, leading the club to the final of the Champions League in 2019, his last full season in charge. He was sacked by Spurs after a disappointing start to the 2019-20 campaign.

Following his time at Tottenham, Pochettino took a break from management before succeeding Tuchel at Paris Saint-Germain in January 2021.

The French club finished second in Ligue 1 at the end of the 2020-21 season but won the Coupe de France and the Trophee des Champions, while Pochettino guided PSG to the Ligue 1 title in 2021-22.

However, Pochettino was unable to secure success on the European stage with PSG, whom he left in June 2022.

Pochettino led Chelsea to a sixth-placed finish and European qualification with a 2-1 win over Bournemouth in his final game in charge (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)

‘Pochettino’s exit shines a light on divisions within the ownership’

Analysis by Liam Twomey

This news is likely to divide Chelsea supporters.

Some who never accepted Pochettino due to his Tottenham past, or were not convinced by a style of play that created a highly productive attack and an historically leaky defence, may see this as a chance to upgrade.

Others will feel Chelsea are going back to square one by parting with a coach who delivered a strong finish to the season and a return to European football.

It is clear that due to a multitude of issues that have played out publicly and privately in recent months, Pochettino and Chelsea decided they simply could no longer work together. Extending his contract, which had one guaranteed year left to run, was never an option.

This is a bold move by co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, two men whose competence has been questioned by many fans.

It also shines a light on divisions within the ownership; Todd Boehly has been publicly supportive of Pochettino but it is Clearlake Capital co-founders Behdad Eghbali and Jose Feliciano who wield the real power at Chelsea.

Winstanley and Stewart – and ultimately Eghbali and Feliciano – own this decision along with Pochettino, and how it will be remembered depends in large part on what happens next.

Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley will play a key role in appointing Pochettino’s successor (Chris Lee – Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)

‘A harsh reflection on his performance’

Analysis from The Athletic’s tactics writer Michael Cox

In all, Pochettino was clearly performing well in a very difficult job, where he was forced to work out, within a relatively short timeframe, what all those new individual players were about, and what combinations of them worked together. It was a classic transition season, but still produced the fourth-best results and the sixth-best underlying numbers.

But parting company with Pochettino — supposedly a mutual decision, although you suspect if Chelsea had desperately wanted him to stay on, they could have found an agreement — isn’t simply a harsh reflection of the manager’s performance. It also throws into doubt Chelsea’s entire direction. Eghbali and Boehly seemed committed to long-termism, but has reacted unreasonably after a single season that doesn’t even constitute a failure.

(Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)