Charles Jackson
Mauricio Pochettino is leaving Chelsea by mutual consent. The 52-year-old Argentine met with the club’s sporting hierarchy on Tuesday when both parties agreed the time was right to part ways, one year into a two-year contract with the option of a further 12 months.
Pochettino’s side bounced back late in the season to qualify for the Europa League by finishing sixth in the Premier League, taking 19 points to their 2022-23 total, whilst also reaching the EFL Cup final and semi-finals of the FA Cup. Despite a strong end to the campaign, there have been several signs that the former PSG and Tottenham manager could leave Stamford Bridge, warning earlier this month that his departure “wouldn’t be the end of the world”.
Indeed, the Argentine is likely to leave with his managerial position likely improved by a late-season recovery that secured sixth place for an occasionally decrepit but ultimately promising team. No team has increased their points total from the previous season more in the 2023-24 Premier League. Pochettino 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 continue advancing in the Premier League and Europe in the years to come.”
Ahead of the season-ending review, Pochettino met co-controller Todd Boehly for dinner on Friday night. It was up to Boehly, Behdad Eghbali and sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart to determine Chelsea’s opinion of their head coach. It will now be up to them to decide who will succeed Pochettino.
Chelsea are said to be among the many admirers of Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna, who is also linked with a vacancy at Brighton and Hove Albion. This vacancy was caused by the departure of Roberto De Zerbi, who was previously linked to the Blues. He appears to be interested in remaining in the Premier League. The next manager will be the fourth permanent occupant of the Stamford Bridge dugout since the Clearlake Capital consortium took over the club two years ago.
Stewart and 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 at Stamford Bridge at any time and we wish him all the best in his future coaching . career.”
It is no small irony that Stamford Bridge will welcome Pochettino back in just two weeks’ time for the annual Soccer Aid charity game, where he will coach a World XI. A more permanent role could emerge by then, with potentially attractive vacancies at AC Milan and Bayern Munich. Sir Alex Ferguson’s high-profile lunch with Pochettino in 2016 seemed to be a declaration that he was the heir apparent to Manchester United, where Erik ten Hag’s future hangs in the balance.
Meanwhile, Chelsea face the headache of finding another man to fill the vacancy at Stamford Bridge, even if that job is a little more attractive now that Pochettino has at least secured Europa League football. There is still the significant headache of the Premier League Profit and Sustainability Regulations, with exclusive analysis from CBS Sports in March calculating that the Blues were on track to significantly exceed the £105 million loss threshold over a three-year period. This will not be alleviated by the compensation Pochettino is expected to receive.
