Everything you need to know about Chelsea's decision to cut ties with Jose Mourinho
The Special One is unemployed.
Chelsea, mired in an atrocious campaign that has seen the reigning Premier League champion lose nine of its 16 matches this season - which has the Blues, incredibly, just one point above the relegation zone - announced Thursday that manager Jose Mourinho has departed the club.
Related: Chelsea, manager Jose Mourinho agree to part ways by mutual consent
The official word, through a flowery press release that waxed poetic about the enduring love and admiration the club will always have for the Portuguese bench boss, is that the two sides agreed to part ways by mutual consent.
Whether that is really the way things went down at Stamford Bridge, we'll likely never know - or, at the very least, not until Mourinho releases a tell-all book about his time on the touchline in west London.
We can be certain, however, that the fallout from Thursday's remarkable, if not entirely surprising decision, will be worth watching. To whom does Chelsea now turn to save its season? Where, exactly, did it all go wrong for Mourinho? And will we see the outspoken, polarizing manager on the bench at another club in the near future?
Here's everything you need to know about Chelsea's decision to cut ties with Jose Mourinho:
REACTION
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LOOKING BACK
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WHAT NOW FOR CHELSEA?
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- Starting from scratch: Changes Chelsea's new boss needs to make
- Report: Mourinho faces potential legal dilemma for role in Carneiro case
WHAT NOW FOR MOURINHO?