CHELSEA players were shocked and “devastated” to learn of Mauricio Pochettino’s departure via social media.
The Argentine became the third full-time manager to leave Stamford Bridge in less than two years since Todd Boehly and his Clearlake owners took over.
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Pochettino, 52, guided Chelsea to a fifth successive Premier League win with a 2-1 home victory over Bournemouth on Sunday.
His last game in charge was enough to secure sixth place and a return to European football after a year away.
People like Cole Palmer, who shared a moving statement of gratitude after the news broke online, have flourished under Poch’s tutelage this semester despite a rocky start to the campaign.
However, the squad were left shaken after it was confirmed last night that the former Tottenham manager had left the club by mutual consent.
Sun Sport understands that a number of players are “devastated” by the news.
And, even worse, they only found out about it on social media.
We also understand that some directors were surprised by the sudden announcement of Pochettino’s departure last night.
Poch kept his final years short and sweet in a statement that read: “Thank you to the Chelsea ownership group and sporting directors for the opportunity to be part of the history of this football club.
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“The club is now well positioned to continue progressing in the Premier League and Europe in the coming years.”
His departure follows an end-of-season review with Chelsea sporting director Paul Winstanley and co-controller Behdad Eghbali.
A disagreement over his contract was a factor in his decision to leave the Blues, despite still having a further 12 months remaining with an option to extend by a further year.
He wanted this changed to a fixed period, but Chelsea were reluctant.
Blues coaches Jesus Perez, Miguel d’Agostino, Toni Jimenez and Pochettino’s son Sebastiano also left.
Pochettino won 27 of his 51 games in charge, drawing ten and losing 14, as he guided the Blues to a sixth-place finish that secured Europa League football.
The club also played at Wembley twice after reaching the semi-finals of the FA Cup and the final of the Carabao Cup, where they suffered a cruel 1-0 defeat to Liverpool.
We revealed last night that Chelsea want a “young, progressive manager”, with Ipswich Town’s Kieran McKenna top of their wanted list.
The 38-year-old Northern Irishman led the Tractor Boys to consecutive Premier League promotions.
Boehly’s record would make even Abramovich blush… we’re back to square one
Here we go again.
Just when some positivity was building around the place and an optimistic look was being cast towards the future, Clearlake Capital went full speed ahead to the drawing board, writes SunSport’s Tom Sheen.
Mauricio Pochettino’s departure will make it six different managers in less than two years when next season rolls around, a record that would make Roman Abramovich blush.
But while the oligarch kept Chelsea’s HR department busy regularly handing out P45s, he also regularly handed out world-class players in the hope of delivering instant titles.
There was no “Vision 2030”, talk of players as financial assets or ridiculous eight-year contracts that potentially harm the club.
Hiring and firing worked under the previous regime because Chelsea had a backbone of world-class talent that they were always looking to improve – not a group of players who seemed light years away from the best teams in the country.
One thing is certain, however. If Clearlake continues down this path, they will need to rebrand to Vision 2060.
Click here to read Tom’s scathing verdict in full…
And he is now seen as the ideal choice to mirror the club’s young squad.
That was the same philosophy Chelsea had when signing Graham Potter from Brighton – although he was sacked after seven months.
Recently departed Brighton manager Roberto de Zerbi is another participant and was also considered before Pochettino took over last summer.
But the Italian’s fiery personality meant he was rejected as “not suitable” for the estate.
Meanwhile, Pochettino may not be out of work for long following his departure from west London.
He is poised to be Manchester United’s new manager two years after being left out as Erik ten Hag clings to his job at Old Trafford.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
