Mauricio Pochettino has left Chelsea after just one season in charge by mutual consent, the English club announced on Tuesday.
The Blues finished
sixth in the Premier League thanks to a fine run towards the end of the season
but missed out on Champions League qualification and a trophy.
“Chelsea FC can
confirm that the club and Mauricio Pochettino have mutually agreed to part
ways,” Chelsea said in a statement.
In just two years
under the ownership of an American consortium fronted by LA Dodgers co-owner
Todd Boehly and private equity group Clearlake Capital, Chelsea have spent over
£1 billion ($1.3 billion) on new players.
The vast majority of
that outplay was spent on rising stars and Pochettino pointed to a lack of
experience and a lengthy injury list for failing to achieve consistent results.
Chelsea lost the
League Cup final 1-0 to Liverpool after extra-time and pushed Manchester City
all the way before losing in the FA Cup semi-finals by the same score.
But there had been
signs that Pochettino’s project was coming together in a run of five
consecutive wins to end the season that ensured Chelsea will be in Europe next
season.
They will qualify
for the Europa League if Manchester United lose to City in the FA Cup final and
the Conference League if the Red Devils shock the English champions.
“Thank you to the
Chelsea ownership group and sporting directors for the opportunity to be part
of this football club’s history,” said Pochettino.
“The club is now
well positioned to keep moving forward in the Premier League and Europe in the
years to come.”
Chelsea sporting
directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley said: “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.”
AFP