Sports

Chelsea Confirm Mauricio Pochettino’s Exit. Here’s Why He Quit

Published

7 months ago

May 21, 2024.

Philip Ibitoye

Chelsea coach Mauricio Pochettino has left the club with immediate effect.
The English club confirmed his exit in a statement Tuesday evening.
The exit follows Pochettino’s sixth premier league finish after a turbulent season.

Eko Hot Blog reports that Chelsea Head Coach Mauricio Pochettino has left the club by mutual consent.

The club announced their manager’s exit in a statement issued Tuesday evening.

“Chelsea FC can confirm that the Club and Mauricio Pochettino have mutually agreed to part ways,” the statement reads in part.

Telegraph Sport reports that Pochettino quit after meeting with sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, and co-controlling owner Behdad Eghbali over the course of two days.

‘POCHETTINO ALWAYS WELCOME BACK’

Chelsea leaders thanked their departing coach and said he would be welcome back to Stamford Bridge any time.

Sporting Directors Stewart and 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.”

Likewise, Pochettino thanked the club’s ownership for the opportunity to manage the team.

“Thank you to the Chelsea ownership group and Sporting Directors for the opportunity to be part of this football club’s history,” the Chelsea website quoted him as saying.

“The Club is now well positioned to keep moving forward in the Premier League and Europe in the years to come.”

The club said it will be making no further comment until such time as a new Head Coach is appointed.

Former Chelsea coach, Mauricio Pochettino

HOW POCHETTINO’S EXIT UNFOLDED

Pochettino reportedly agreed to his departure with Chelsea late on Tuesday morning, following the club’s end-of-season review that started on Monday.

According to Telegraph Sport, at around 11.30am on Tuesday morning, Pochettino shook hands on his Chelsea departure and left the lawyers to “finalise a divorce that had not required a relationship expert to predict.”

Pochettino was called into Chelsea’s Cobham training ground at around midday on Monday as part of the club’s end-of-season review to meet with the sporting directors.

There were no disagreements over who should be in charge of transfers or which players should or should not be sold. The differences are explained as being more philosophical and relate to the dynamics of working within a club structure.

With a long season only just finished, nobody wanted to make a rash decision that could later be regretted so all parties agreed to sleep on day one of the meeting and reconvene on Tuesday morning. But nothing had changed by day two and by about 11.30am Pochettino’s departure was verbally agreed, Telegraph Sport reports.

SEARCH FOR A ‘YOUNG, PROGRESSIVE’ COACH

Chelsea will immediately start their search for a replacement with “a young and progressive coach” to be targeted.

Among the names likely to be considered will be Stuttgart’s Sebastian Hoeness, Girona’s Michel, Ipswich Town’s Kieran McKenna, who has been lined up by Brighton, and Leicester City’s Enzo Maresca, according to Telegraph Sport.

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