Chelsea have parted ways with Mauricio Pochettino after just one season in charge - but questions surround how much say co-owner Todd Boehly had in his exit.
The American has been the figurehead at Stamford Bridge since the BlueCo consortium took control of the club. However, after going for dinner with Pochettino on Friday night ahead of the final game of the Premier League season, Boehly was conspicuous by his absence when the decision was announced on Tuesday.
A two-day meeting, the club’s end-of season review, began on Monday and rolled into Tuesday morning. It was meant to go longer.
Pochettino met with sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, and co-controlling owner Behdad Eghbali - the yin to Boehly’s yang - where it was decided that he would depart by mutual consent, just one year into his two year contract. Boehly wasn't there.
Pochettino'scoaching staff, Jesus Perez, Miguel d’Agostino, Toni Jimenez and Sebastiano Pochettino have all left the club too.
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A club statement confirmed: “Chelsea FC can confirm that the Club and Mauricio Pochettino have mutually agreed to part ways.”
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.”
Pochettino may have led the side to a sixth place finish, having been 11th at the start of November - ending the campaign with five straight wins - but there were too many differences between he and the club’s sporting directors to overcome.
He wanted more control over recruitment this summer, having seen last summer’s £400million outlay mean they looked anything but a team during the first half of 2023-24. He felt that having eventually got things right, turning a season that was looking like a disaster at Christmas into one that ended on a positive note - with only only Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool landing more points since the turn of the year - and with the side finally moving in the right direction, he had earned that right.
Pochettino has played a key role in Cole Palmer's rise to prominence this season (Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly's name wasn't attached to the statement on Pochettino's exit (Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images)But Chelsea’s chiefs - at least the three main players in attendance - weren’t for turning. And with Boehly, Pochettino's biggest supporter at board level, not there, and the Argentine clear in his viewpoint, the decision was made to end things now, rather than risk a major fallout further down the line.
Pochettino receives a substantial payoff and commented: “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.”
Chelsea do not yet have a new boss lined up as they seek a fourth permanent boss in just two years, although Roberto De Zerbi, leaving Brighton after his own disagreement on next steps, has immediately been installed as the bookmakers’ favourite. Kieran McKenna, wanted by Brighton to replace De Zerbi, is also in their thinking.
The club insist they won’t be commenting further until a new manager is hired. Whether Boehly is back front and centre when that announcement comes, we'll have to wait and see.
But his silence on Tuesday appears deafening.
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