Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino has left his role by mutual consent, the club have announced.
The 52-year-old Argentinian, who had only been in the job for 11 months, guided Chelsea to a sixth-placed finish in the Premier League this season.
Chelsea said in a statement: “Chelsea FC can confirm that the club and Mauricio Pochettino have mutually agreed to part ways.”
The club’s sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley added: “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.”
Former Tottenham and Paris St Germain manager Pochettino, who signed a two-year deal in May last year, 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 Europe in the years to come.”
Pochettino’s backroom team of Jesus Perez, Miguel d’Agostino, Toni Jimenez and son Sebastiano Pochettino have also departed Stamford Bridge.
The likes of Ipswich’s Kieran McKenna, Leicester’s Enzo Maresca, Stuttgart’s Sebastian Hoeness and Girona boss Michel are reportedly on the Blues’ list of possible replacements for Pochettino.
The club added: “The club will be making no further comment until such time as a new head coach is appointed.”
Pochettino, who led Tottenham to the Champions League final in 2019, ended his spell in charge of Chelsea with five successive league wins, earning a Europa Conference League place for next season.
Chelsea also reached the Carabao Cup final, where they lost 1-0 to Liverpool, and the semi-finals of the FA Cup, in which they were beaten 1-0 by Manchester City.
Pochettino said after Chelsea’s 2-1 last-day win against Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge that he did not know whether the club’s ownership planned to keep him on.
He revealed he had shared dinner with Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly and his Clearlake Capital group on Friday and reiterated that decisions over incoming and outgoing transfers at the club this summer would be led by sporting directors Winstanley and Stuart.
Chelsea laid out £747million on new signings during the 2022-23 season and spent more than £400m on new players under Pochettino, including the likes of Cole Palmer, Moises Caicedo and Nicolas Jackson.
The Blues, whose last major trophies came in 2021 with the Champions League and Club World Cup, last won the Premier League title in 2016-17 and they will begin the search for their seventh permanent manager in six years.
They sacked both Thomas Tuchel and his replacement Graham Potter during the 2022-23 season, while Frank Lampard, Maurizio Sarri and Antonio Conte have also had spells in charge during that time – Lampard returning to close out the season as interim boss after Potter’s departure.
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