Jose Mourinho has been sacked as manager of Tottenham Hotspur, after 17 months in charge of the London Premier League club and six days before they appear in the League Cup final.
Tottenham has confirmed that the Portuguese has left, along with his coaching staff.
"The club can today announce that Jose Mourinho and his coaching staff - Joao Sacramento, Nuno Santos, Carlos Lalin and Giovanni Cerra - have been relieved of their duties," it says.
The news comes the morning after the club became one of 12 clubs forming a breakaway European Super League - a development that has been widely condemned and threatens a bitter power struggle in the European game.
Former Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Manchester United manager Mourinho, 58, had been in charge of 86 games at the club, after replacing the popular Mauricio Pochettino in November 2019.
After taking charge with the club in 14th place in the Premier League, they finished in sixth spot last season.
His first full season in charge began well, with the club beating Manchester United and Manchester City, and topping the table in December.
But they have since slumped, with fans disgruntled by the style of football, and mystified by the lack of game-time given to the likes of Gareth Bale and Dele Alli.
Tottenham have also become overly reliant on the goals of Harry Kane, who took his tally to 21 for the league season with a double against Everton on the weekend, but who is linked with a move away from the club.
The 2-2 draw at Everton left Tottenham in seventh place and they have won only one of their last five league games, all-but ending their top-four hopes.
They also suffered an embarrassing Europa League last-16 exit against Dinamo Zagreb, losing the away leg 3-0, after winning the first leg 2-0 at home.
The timing of Mourinho's sacking denied him the chance of landing Tottenham's first trophy since 2008 in this weekend's League Cup final against Manchester City.
Mourinho, a former FIFA World Coach of the Year, is one of the most decorated managers in football and has delivered silverware wherever he has been, since joining Porto in 2002.
Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy turned to Mourinho as the man to do the same for Tottenham, a club that boasts one of the best stadiums and training grounds in the world, but has consistently fallen short on the pitch.
But results and performances have tailed off alarmingly this season, and since the end of January, Tottenham have won only five of 14 Premier League matches.
Mourinho has always been known for his pragmatic style and the steely mentality of his teams, but Tottenham have dropped 20 points from winning positions this season.
"Jose and his coaching staff have been with us through some of our most challenging times as a club," Levy says.
"Jose is a true professional, who showed enormous resilience during the pandemic. On a personal level, I have enjoyed working with him and regret that things have not worked out as we both had envisaged."
Tottenham says former midfielder Ryan Mason will be in charge of the first team in the interim.
RB Leipzig manager Julian Nagelsmann is tipped as one of the favourites to take over from Mourinho, although he is also touted to replace Hansi Flick at Bayern Munich.
Reuters
