Chelsea Manager Mauricio Pochettino bid farewell to the club in a Mutual agreement, following meetings with sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, as well as co-controlling owner Behdad Eghbali over a span of two days.
The decision for Pochettino’s departure was reached on Tuesday morning after Chelsea’s end-of-season review, which commenced on Monday.
No animosity is believed to exist between Pochettino and Chelsea, who immediately embarked on their quest to find a fresh, young, and progressive coach to take the reins.
Several names are expected to be considered, including Sebastian Hoeness from Stuttgart, Michel from Girona, Kieran McKenna from Ipswich Town (who has drawn interest from Brighton), and Enzo Maresca from Leicester City.
Pochettino had a dinner meeting with co-controlling owner Todd Boehly on Friday night before spending extensive hours with Winstanley and Stewart on Monday and Tuesday, culminating in a meeting with Eghbali.
This turn of events means that Pochettino departs Chelsea with one year remaining on his two-year contract, positioning him to receive a substantial compensation package.
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 Europa League in the years to come.”
Described as an amicable departure, Pochettino joins the ranks of Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter as the third permanent head coach to leave under the ownership of Clearlake Capital-Boehly.
Last season, Bruno Saltor briefly managed Chelsea for one game before Frank Lampard took over on an interim basis, making a total of five managers who have worked under Chelsea’s current owners in just two years.
Under Pochettino’s leadership, Chelsea secured European qualification with a string of five consecutive wins to close the season. The club also reached the final of the Carabao Cup and the semi-final of the FA Cup.
