Mauricio Pochettino leaves Chelsea two days after end of Premier League season

The Argentine leaves the club by ‘mutual consent’ following an end-of-season review, having finished sixth in the Premier League

Mauricio Pochettino left Chelsea on Tuesday, just two days after the end of his first season in charge of the southwest London club.

The Argentine departs one year into a two-year deal, having finished sixth in the Premier League after winning their final five games of the season, with many of the squad left stunned.

His future was the subject of an internal end-of-season review with Chelsea sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, who will now search for the fourth full-time manager under the current ownership since their takeover in 2022.

But Pochettino is leaving by mutual consent, according to a statement from the club, following conversations with the co-owner Behdad Eghbali.

“On behalf of everyone at Chelsea, we would like to express our gratitude to Mauricio for his service this season,” Winstanley and Stewart said in a joint statement.

“He will be welcome back to Stamford Bridge any time and we wish him all the very best in his future coaching career.”

Pochettino thanked Chelsea’s ownership group in the club’s statement, and added: “The club is now well positioned to keep moving forward in the Premier League and Europe in the years to come.”

Pochettino’s backroom staff have also left the club, with Chelsea beginning their search for a new manager with immediate effect.

Pochettino had voiced his frustrations at a number of issues at the club during his first season, while Chelsea also underperformed given their considerable investment in playing staff. The club has also been affected by a lengthy injury list.

The former Tottenham manager had steadied the team over recent weeks, guiding Chelsea to European qualification for next season thanks to improved performances on the pitch.

The character of Chelsea’s young squad had been questioned following the Carabao Cup final defeat to Liverpool and 5-0 thrashing against Arsenal in March, but Pochettino had appeared to turn results around.

Chelsea were beaten in the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool (PA)

Pochettino was pushed on his future following a 2-1 victory over Bournemouth on the final day of the Premier League season, stating: “That is a question for the owners and the sporting director.”

“For the history of Chelsea, it is hard to celebrate [finishing sixth],” Pochettino said on Sunday, following a mixed season.

“But it is the first step to achieve bigger things after. We are really close. Season by season it is about improving. We know how we need to compete next season. We have a young squad but with more experience in the Premier League now.”

Chelsea are now on the hunt for a replacement and their former coach Thomas Tuchel, who has just left Bayern Munich, was linked in the immediate aftermath of the news that Pochettino had left the club.

Ipswich Town’s Kieran McKenna is reportedly a leading candidate, while Roberto De Zerbi, who recently departed Brighton by mutual consent, has also been linked with the job.

The new boss will take charge for Chelsea’s first pre-season fixture scheduled for 23 July against Wrexham in Santa Clara, California.

Further games against Celtic, Club America, Manchester City and Real Madrid are also in the schedule.