The Argentine endured a difficult season at Stamford Bridge but ended the campaign on a high, recording five consecutive victories to secure a place in Europe.
After Sunday’s 2-1 victory over Bournemouth, however, he could offer no assurances over his future and did not take part in the customary lap of appreciation.
The club have spent the past two days reviewing his position and on Tuesday evening they confirmed in a brief statement that Pochettino had left the club.
‘Chelsea FC can confirm that the club and Mauricio Pochettino have mutually agreed to part ways,’ read the release.
‘The club will be making no further comment until such time as a new head coach is appointed.’
Pochettino departed with a short message of his own, saying: ‘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.’
Pochettino met with co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart on both Monday and Tuesday, as well as co-controlling owner Behdad Eghbali.
Stewart and Winstanley said of Pochettino’s departure: ‘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’s long-serving coaching staff – Jesus Perez, Miguel d’Agostino, Toni Jimenez and his son Sebastiano Pochettino – have also all left the club.
It was decided late on Tuesday morning that Pochettino would leave the club and Chelsea’s hierarchy will now begin the process of finding a replacement.
Pochettino made it to the Carabao Cup final, FA Cup semi-final and secured a sixth place finish despite dealing with a raft of injuries and huge turnover of players.
He only had one year left to run on his contract, which expired in 2025, and that is likely to have played a role in the decision, while he is believed to have wanted a bigger say over transfers.
Chelsea are now expected to target a young, progressive coach to take over from Pochettino and have already been linked with Ipswich Town’s Kieran McKenna.
The 38-year-old is one of the most sought-after managers in the country after securing back-to-back promotions while playing scintillating, free-flowing football.
The Italian, who was actually brought to the south coast by Winstanley and Stewart when they were still at Brighton, could also be an option to replace Pochettino.
Other names in the frame include Stuttgart’s Sebastian Hoeness – who guided the side to the second place in the Bundesliga – as well as Girona’s Michel and Leicester City boss Enzo Maresca.
The new manager will be the sixth to hold the position under Chelsea’s Clearlake Capital ownership, with Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter, Bruno Saltor, Frank Lampard and Pochettino all having held the reins over the past two years.
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