Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has left the club two days after the end of his first season in charge at Stamford Bridge.
Former Southampton, Tottenham and Paris St-Germain boss Pochettino had been expected to significantly improve Chelsea’s fortunes, taking over a hugely expensive squad whose 12th-placed finish in 2022/23 had been the club’s lowest final position in the Premier League era.
But the Argentinian found himself under increasing pressure as the six-time champions spent almost the entire season in midtable, although a closing run of five consecutive wins lifted them to sixth.
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Pochettino thanked Chelsea’s hierarchy and ownership consortium, which includes Todd Boehly, the part-owner of Major League Baseball team the LA Dodgers.
“The club is now well positioned to keep moving forward in the Premier League and Europe in the years to come,” he added as part of a statement which confirmed that staff members Jesus Perez, Miguel d’Agostino, Toni Jimenez and Sebastiano Pochettino had also departed.
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.”
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After losing three and winning only one of their first six league matches – a victory over Luton Town, who were relegated – Chelsea only twice won more than once in a row in the Premier League between October and April.
Their lavish summer spending had included the arrival of Moises Caicedo for a British record fee of £115 million from Brighton & Hove Albion, but fellow midfielder Cole Palmer was the only signing to shine, providing 22 goals and 11 assists in 34 top-flight appearances following his £42.5m switch from Manchester City.
A 4-1 thrashing at Liverpool followed by a 4-2 home defeat against Wolves increased the scrutiny on Pochettino, who responded by inspiring his players to a run of one defeat in Chelsea’s final 15 league games.
The 52-year-old was installed in July on a two-year deal after a chaotic campaign for the club in which Graham Potter and Frank Lampard each oversaw poor results during brief spells at the helm following Thomas Tuchel’s departure.
Chelsea reached the FA Cup semi-finals but were hampered by wasteful finishing on their way to a late 1-0 defeat against Manchester City, who finished 28 points above them at the top of the Premier League.
Pochettino was on the verge of winning his first trophy in England when Chelsea faced Liverpool in the EFL Cup final in February, only to endure more criticism when they lost in extra time to heavily depleted opponents.
Next Chelsea manager
Former Bayern Munich boss Hansi Flick, ex-Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi and Sporting CP head coach Ruben Amorim are among the potential candidates to succeed Pochettino.
Chelsea will play in the Uefa Europa League next season unless Manchester United beat Manchester City in the FA Cup final on Saturday, which would send them to the Europa Conference League.
