May 22 – It could only happen at Chelsea. Despite taking the club to the final of one domestic cup competition, the semi-final of another and from last season’s 12th-placed league finish to sixth, securing European football in the process, Mauricio Pochettino has left the club after just one season.
The Argentine took charge of Chelsea on July 1 last year, signing a two-year contract with the option of a further 12 months. While the former Paris St Germain and Tottenham Hotspur boss was under pressure after an underwhelming first half of the season, a run of five successive wins finished the campaign on a high
The fact is Chelsea moved up six places, took 19 more points and picked up seven more wins than last term, allowing Pochettino to walk away with his reputation unscathed.
Chelsea will now search for a seventh permanent manager in just five years, a remarkable statistic that underlines the level of loyalty – or lack of it – and ruthlessness that the club invariably shows even though his departure was said to be by mutual consent.
“On behalf of everyone at Chelsea, we would like to express our gratitude to Mauricio for his service this season,” Chelsea sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley said.
“He will be welcome back to Stamford Bridge any time and we wish him all the very best in his future coaching career.”
Some will consider these empty words. Under Chelsea’s American-led ownership, the club spent an eye-watering £747 million on transfers during the 2022-23 campaign and while Pochettino might have been seen as the man to mould them into credible title contenders again, he was given next to no time to do so.
Chelsea’s players were reported to be surprised and upset. Cole Palmer, named the Premier League’s young player of the season after a superb campaign, thanked Pochettino in a post on Instagram. “Thank you for everything you have done for me and making my dreams come true. All the best,” Palmer said.
Former Chelsea player Craig Burley did not hold back. “They just don’t have a vision, they’re stumbling from one manager to the next,” he said, while ex-Chelsea midfielder Gus Poyet said Pochettino’s exit was difficult to understand.
“Everyone close to Chelsea was expecting a great summer and something important for next year. I was shocked, I couldn’t believe it. It was kind of impossible,” he told Sky.
There will be no lack of suitors for Pochettino who has already been linked with the vacant job at Bayern Munich.
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