Following Chelsea’s 2-0 home loss against Aston Villa on Saturday, the Blues have decided to sack Graham Potter after just seven months in charge at Stamford Bridge.
Bruno Saltor will take charge of the team on an interim basis while Chelsea look for their next permanent manager.
“Chelsea FC has announced that Graham Potter has departed the club,” a club statement released on Sunday evening started.
“Graham has agreed to collaborate with the club to facilitate a smooth transition.
“In his time with the club, Graham has taken us to the quarter-final of the Champions League, where we will face Real Madrid.
“Chelsea would like to thank Graham for all his efforts and contribution and wish him well for the future.”
A message from the Chelsea owners
Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali, both part of the Chelsea ownership group, shared a message of their own with the club’s fans, calling for unity and for the fans to back Bruno Saltor over the coming days.
“On behalf of everyone at the club, we want to thank Graham sincerely for his contribution to Chelsea,” they said.
“We have the highest degree of respect for Graham as a coach and as a person.
“He has always conducted himself with professionalism and integrity and we are all disappointed in this outcome.
“Along with our incredible fans, we will all be getting behind Bruno and the team as we focus on the rest of the season.
“We have 10 Premier League games remaining and a Champions League quarter-final ahead.
“We will put every effort and commitment into every one of those games so that we can end the season on a high.”
Graham Potter’s record as Chelsea manager
Graham Potter took over at Chelsea in September and oversaw 31 total matches, winning just 12 of them, in addition to eight draws and 11 losses.
With the team in the bottom half of the Premier League table, pressure was mounting on Potter and the club ultimately decided that he couldn’t continue, despite defeating Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League last 16.