Mauricio Pochettino leaves Chelsea by mutual consent

Mauricio Pochettino has left his role as Chelsea manager by mutual consent after less than 11 months in charge despite qualifying for European football next season, the club confirmed Tuesday.

Pochettino's exit means Chelsea's owners, Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, are on the lookout for their fourth manager since taking over at the club in May 2022.

"Thank you to the Chelsea ownership group and Sporting Directors for the opportunity to be part of this football club's history," Pochettino said in the club's statement. "The Club is now well positioned to keep moving forward in the Premier League and Europe in the years to come.'

The 51-year-old, who joined Chelsea on a two-year deal last summer, has left with the west London club finishing seventh in the Premier League and qualifying for the Europa Conference League, UEFA's third-tier continental competition.

Chelsea spent around £380 million ($478.26m) on 10 players in the last summer transfer window but struggled with consistency for much of the season.

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

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

A young squad coupled with long-term injuries to Christopher Nkunku and club captain Reece James saw them suffer 11 losses in the league.

However, the Argentine's team began to show promise in the latter stages of the campaign, losing just one of their final 15 league fixtures and winning their last five.

Chelsea also reached the Carabao Cup final, though their defeat to Liverpool in extra time saw them branded "billion-pound bottle-jobs."