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'Jose and the board agreed results have not been good enough this season and believe it is in the best interests of both parties to go our separate ways'
Jose Mourinho was sacked as manager of Premier League champions Chelsea on Thursday after a calamitous run of results left the west London club one point above the relegation zone.
Here's everything you need to know about former Chelsea manager Mourinho
A club statement said Chelsea and the 52-year-old Portuguese had parted company by ‘mutual consent’ seven months after he led them to the title by an eight-point margin.
1. It concludes a spectacular fall from grace for Mourinho, rated as one of the world's best coaches, who declared himself the ‘happy one’ when he returned for a second stint in charge of Chelsea in 2013 after spells at Inter Milan and Real Madrid.
Chelsea's 2-1 defeat at surprise league leaders Leicester City on Monday, their ninth loss in 16 league games since the start of a season that has gone spectacularly wrong, proved to be the final straw for Russian owner Roman Abramovich.
2. After that latest setback Mourinho accused some of his players of ‘betraying my work’ -- a verbal attack that appeared to be his last throw of the dice in halting the slide.
"All at Chelsea thank Jose for his immense contribution since he returned as manager in the summer of 2013," a statement on the club's website said.
3. "His three league titles, FA Cup, Community Shield and three League Cup wins over two spells make him the most successful manager in our 110-year history.
"But both Jose and the board agreed results have not been good enough this season and believe it is in the best interests of both parties to go our separate ways.
"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."
Chelsea said they would not be making any further comment until a new appointment was made.
4. When Chelsea beat Porto last week to reach the last 16 of the Champions League it seemed he had bought himself time, but defeat by Leicester put the club's demise into sharp focus.
After 16 games last season Chelsea had lost once and had 39 points while Leicester were bottom on 10.
A year on and Chelsea are 20 points behind the east Midlands outfit and their title hopes, if not their top-four ambitions, have been extinguished before Christmas.
"I've never known a capitulation like it from a football club," former England striker and now BBC pundit Alan Shearer said as news of Mourinho's sacking spread.
"I have never known players to perform like they did last season and then be so bad now. It's unprecedented."
5. While thrashings by Manchester City and Liverpool were chastening, it was defeats by less glamorous clubs like Leicester, Southampton, West Ham United, Stoke City and modest Bournemouth that led to a sense of crisis.
The strain has shown too with Mourinho twice being fined for his behaviour and receiving a one-match stadium ban after he was banished to the stands at West Ham on Oct. 24.
His post-match interviews became increasingly unpredictable. One rambling answer after Chelsea lost to Southampton lasted seven minutes while on other occasions he was mono-syllabic.
Acknowledged as the most successful manager in Chelsea's history, and claiming they would not find anyone better, he retained the affection of many fans to the end but crucially seemed to have lost some of the dressing room.
Despite the loyalty of the Blues supporters to their Portuguese coach, however, Abramovich had seen enough.