Everton's Premier League rivals manager makes shock exit and is held in 'high esteem' by Man Utd

Mauricio Pochettino has left his role as Chelsea boss.

Pochettino departs by mutual consent after meeting with sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, and co-controlling owner Behdad Eghbali.

Pochettino was appointed Stamford Bridge manager last summer as he succeeded Graham Potter in the dugout. After a largely underwhelming season, including losing to Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final, the London outfit did finish strongly.

Chelsea secured sixth place in the Premier League following five successive victories and have qualified for Europe next term. But The Telegraph reports that Pochettino fell short of the expectations set last summer. Chelsea have spent more than £1 billion on players since Todd Boehly and Eghbali purchased the club from Roman Abramovich two years ago.

Pochettino, who had a year left on his Stamford Bridge contract, reportedly agreed to his exit on Tuesday morning and is in line for ‘significant compensation’.

Via Chelsea’s website, Pochettino said: 'Thank you to the Chelsea ownership group and sporting directors for the opportunity to be part of this football club's history. The club is now well positioned to keep moving forward in the Premier League and Europe in the years to come.”

Sporting directors Winstanley and Stewart said: “On behalf of everyone at Chelsea, we would like to express our gratitude to Mauricio for his service this season. He will be welcome back to Stamford Bridge any time and we wish him all the very best in his future coaching career”'

The Evening Standard reports that Pochettino, who guided Tottenham to the 2019 Champions League final but were beaten 2-0 by Liverpool in Madrid, is admired by Manchester United and could replace the under-fire Erik ten Hag.