Jose Mourinho has been sacked by Chelsea.
16th in the Premier League, just one point above the relegation zone and the new year on the horizon. There's a couple of sentences no one expected to be writing at the start of the season and yet here we are.
While the club's fans were largely loyal to Mourinho until the end, Monday's defeat at the hands of Leicester was surely the straw that broke the camel's back (or something less clichéd). While the Eva Carneiro situation will be looked back on as the beginning of the end, the blatant throwing under the bus of his players on Monday was the signal that it was all over and done with.
A statement from the club has confirmed now the decision to part company with their most successful manager for the second time.
The club wishes to make clear Jose 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 the club. The club’s focus is now on ensuring our talented squad reaches its potential.
There will be no further comment until a new appointment is made.
It is thought that Mourinho learned of the decision at a meeting with club officials around two o'clock today. And while earlier reports had anticipated that he would be in line for a compensation package worth up to £40 million, it would appear that he will instead to be paid up until the end of this season.
The timing of the decision is also particularly interesting given the fact that Pep Guardiola is looking likely to let it be known that he will be on the look out for a new job at the start of next season. It had been thought that a deal with Man City was looking most likely but it will certainly be interesting to see if the opening at Stamford Bridge has any effect on that.
Even if Guardiola does become a genuine contender for the Chelsea hotseat in the long run, the club are still going to need someone to steady the ship until the end of the season. The 'interim' tag may not be used this time around but with a Champions League second round tie against PSG to look forward to, an intriguing challenge is awaiting whomever Roman Abramovich and the Chelsea board have lined up to fill the significant void left by Mourinho.
