Mauricio Pochettino has left his job as Chelsea manager by mutual consent after one season in charge of the Premier League club.

Pochettino joined Chelsea ahead of the 2023-24 season when he replaced interim manager Frank Lampard as the club’s new owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital looked to freshen things up at Stamford Bridge after finishing 12th in the previous campaign.

Although Chelsea started the season poorly and found themselves in the bottom half of the Premier League despite spending more than any club in Europe, Pochettino managed to guide the London club to sixth.

His departure was confirmed by the club on Tuesday (Wednesday AEDT). 

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

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

Speculation had been rife that the former Paris St Germain and Tottenham Hotspur boss would be gone after just one year in charge but Pochettino remained tight-lipped about his future when asked after their final game of the season on Sunday.

“Thank you to the Chelsea ownership group and sporting directors for the opportunity,” Pochettino said. “The club is now well positioned to keep moving forward in the Premier League and Europe in the years to come.”

Chelsea will now search for a successor and have expressed recent interest in Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna, Sporting’s Ruben Amorim and Burnley’s Vincent Kompany.

A return for former managers Jose Mourinho or Thomas Tuchel is not on the cards as the club targets a young head coach, according to the the BBC.

Pochettino was Chelsea’s sixth permanent manager in five years, following the sacking of Tuchel and Graham Potter, which led to Frank Lampard taking charge on a temporary basis at the end of the 2022-23 season.