José Mourinho has been sacked by Chelsea, with the club’s former caretaker manager Guus Hiddink lined up to take over for the rest of the season. The Portuguese has paid the price for the team’s dismal Premier League form and he has become the latest casualty of the Roman Abramovich era.
The Chelsea owner has now dismissed eight managers since his
takeover in 2003 but he had held off for as long as possible on Mourinho, and not only because he had given him a new four- year contract worth £250,000 a week, or £13m a year, in August.
Abramovich desperately wanted Mourinho to build upon last season’s title
triumph but so bad has this season been that he knew he needed to act. Chelsea’s 2-1 at Leicester City on Monday night was a ninth defeat in 16 league matches and it left them just one point above the relegation zone.
Chelsea, whose next match is at home to Sunderland on Saturday, released a statement a little after 3pm, saying that they wished “to make clear José leaves us on good terms”. The full statement read: “Chelsea Football Club and José Mourinho have today parted company by mutual consent. All
at Chelsea thank José for his immense contribution since he returned as manager in the summer of 2013.
“His three league titles, FA Cup, Community Shield and three League Cup wins over two spells make him the most successful manager in our 110-year history. But both José and the board agreed results have not been good enough this season and believe it is in the best interests of both parties to go our separate ways.
“The club wishes to make clear José leaves us on good terms and will always remain a much-loved, respected and significant figure at Chelsea. His legacy at Stamford Bridge and in England has long been guaranteed and he will always be warmly welcomed back to Stamford Bridge.
“The club’s focus is now on ensuring our talented squad reaches its potential.”
This is the end of Mourinho’s second stint in charge of the club
– his first spell in charge of Chelsea ended in September of
2007, after he won the Premier League title in 2005 and 2006.
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