Mauricio Pochettino breaks his silence two weeks after leaving Chelsea - as he confirms Stamford Bridge return

Mauricio Pochettino has broken his silence two weeks after parting ways with Chelsea on social media, confirming he will be returning to Stamford Bridge in the very near future.

The Argentine guided Chelsea back into European competition in his first term at the helm despite an up-and-down first half of the season, but left the club by mutual consent in May.

The Blues have since announced Enzo Maresca as their latest head coach, that confirmation coming on Monday. 

Pochettino's exit perhaps came as something of a surprise to many, with the dressing room thought to be very close to the ex-Tottenham manager after he managed a sixth-placed finish and only three defeats in 2024.

Yet Chelsea still clearly holds a positive place in Pochettino's heart judging by his touching message, in which he thanked supporters and higher-ups at the club for their support throughout his sole season in charge.  

Taking to his Instagram account, the former Blues boss wrote: 'To the owners, the sporting directors we appreciate the opportunity to return to the Premier League at this great club and for the support you gave us, as well as from all the players, staff and fans - thank you.

'We understand how important this football club is to you all and that is why we work so hard to give you a Chelsea you can be proud of.

'I am so pleased with the level the team reached and the way the players and staff have all worked so hard to increase their standards, they deserve great credit and I hope you felt that too in how they performed on the pitch.

'We know there have been ups and downs but we always believed in this team and that we would arrive at a consistent level.

'I believe the experiences of this season and big improvement we saw, I hope will only make the players stronger for the future. It has been a pleasure to work with them all and we appreciate the strong bonds we created in this last year together.

'I want to wish all of you the best for next season and beyond.

'It is great that we have the chance to return to Stamford Bridge so soon with SoccerAid this weekend and I hope that we get to see some of you there too.

'I hope you all get to have a great summer. Big hug from us, MP x.'

While results improved on the pitch by the end of the season, Pochettino was still subjected to an internal review with the club's hierarchy thought to have been left displeased by the progress the team had made in 2023-24. 

The review was led by co-controlling owner Behdad Eghbali and sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart in the aftermath of their 2-1 win over Bournemouth on the campaign's final day.

Despite making the Europa League - only to be relegated to the Conference League after Manchester United won the FA Cup - the owners were ultimately disappointed that their side could not return to the Champions League after a hefty outlay. 

In meetings with Eghbali, Winstanley and Stewart – in which the entire season was evaluated, including why they have been ravaged by more injuries than any other Premier League club – disagreements over strategy became devastatingly clear.

Pochettino had long been frustrated by the lack of the power he has been afforded, including in the transfer market. It was ultimately decided that an immediate separation was for the best, rather than risk a significant fallout midway through the next season.

The split is said to be ‘amicable’, and Pochettino's reputation remains largely intact after losing only one of Chelsea's last 15 Premier League games.

The season hadn't come without challenges though, with Chelsea as low as 11th after a dismal 4-2 home defeat to Wolves on February 4, but there were significant signs of progress under the Argentine in recent months.

Pochettino also improved several of the Blues' young stars as the campaign went on, including the likes of Noni Madueke and Malo Gusto, while their Premier League points tally of 63 was 19 more than last season, the biggest improvement of any club in the top flight.

In a statement released after the announcement was made, 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.’

Winstanley and Stewart added in a joint-statement: ‘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.’

It was also confirmed that Jesus Perez, Miguel d’Agostino, Toni Jimenez and Sebastiano Pochettino had also left the club with the manager, who led Chelsea to the final of the Carabao Cup and the semi-finals of the FA Cup as well as finishing sixth in the table.