Tottenham have sacked Jose Mourinho after 17 months in charge, the club have confirmed.
Spurs announced the decision on Monday morning, less than 12 hours after confirming they will be founding members of a new European Super League alongside five other English clubs including Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool.
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Sources have told ESPN that Mourinho will receive a compensation package lower than the £30 million that had previously been reported elsewhere. Mourinho had a contract worth around £10m per season until 2023 and therefore Spurs are committed to paying a figure closer to £20m.
Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy said: "Jose and his coaching staff have been with us through some of our most challenging times as a club. 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. He will always be welcome here and we should like to thank him and his coaching staff for their contribution."
Tottenham are seventh in the Premier League, five points adrift of the top four, and face Manchester City in the EFL Cup Final on Sunday.
Mourinho, 58, had lost 13 games in all competitions this season, more than any other in his managerial career, and sources told ESPN that several squad members had grown frustrated by his willingness to publicly criticise the players after defeats.
He succeeded Mauricio Pochettino in November 2019 with the specific aim of winning silverware and maintaining the club's presence in the Champions League.
Mourinho had shown signs of feeling the strain during tense exchanges with reporters in news conferences of late, but sources claim he harboured a belief that beating City this weekend and delivering the club's first trophy since 2008 would buy him time.
ESPN reported on Feb. 19 that Spurs wanted to wait until the end of the season before determining Mourinho's fate, chiefly to clarify which European competition the club would be playing in next season. They remain in a scramble to qualify for the Champions League, but that competition has been thrown into chaos by Sunday night's dramatic announcement of the formation of the new super league, which Spurs plan to take part in.
Although there likely will be a raft of legal challenges and strong opposition from within the game's existing structure, those clubs at the vanguard of the breakaway are confident of its success and the timing of Mourinho's exit is another sign Spurs expect this new vision to become a reality.
Spurs confirmed coach Ryan Mason will take charge of training on Monday. Sources have told ESPN that Mason and Chris Powell are likely to be appointed on an interim basis until the end of the season as the search for a new manager begins.
Sources added that Julian Nagelsmann and Brendan Rodgers are two coaches admired by senior figures at Tottenham. RB Leipzig boss Nageslmann is, however, favourite to take over at Bayern Munich when Hansi Flick departs at the end of the season while Leicester would fight hard to keep Rodgers, who is under contract at the King Power Stadium until 2025.