Mauricio Pochettino haunted by Todd Boehly's Chelsea comments in wake of 'stupid rumours'

Todd Boehly’s effusive praise for Mauricio Pochettino turned out to be a fond farewell rather than an endorsement of his future at Chelsea. The sudden departure of the Argentine from Stamford Bridge in late May was a bitter pill for many supporters to swallow.

Pochettino, once the target of chants of ‘you don’t know what you’re doing’ from his own fans, left amidst a wave of disappointment from Chelsea supporters who believed he deserved another season in charge after a strong finish to the campaign.

However, it appears both Pochettino and Boehly have ended up with proverbial egg on their faces as their past public statements linger awkwardly. The former Paris Saint-Germain manager seemed sure he had the support of his bosses, while Boehly perhaps believed a positive transformation was imminent in west London.

After securing a second Premier League win over Tottenham this season and demolishing West Ham 5-0, Boehly made an appearance at the Sportico conference. He said: “We’ve seen the last two and a half games, at least in the second half at Aston Villa [2-2 draw] and Tottenham and West Ham where we played just beautiful football.

“It was so fluid, it was exactly the way we drew it up, when we came out of the back, built up and moved up the pitch, [it was] very organised and the number of shots we had on board. In those two and a half games, you could really start to see what we were working on coming together. Even the commentary has changed over the last two and a half games. I’ve never seen anything change so quickly.”

But despite an aura of stability, Pochettino was compelled to address speculation about his future at Chelsea. “We were talking about the judgement at the end of the season, if I feel I am under scrutiny,” he remarked during a press conference. “That was the question from the people. But it is like [we have] to prove, after all these circumstances and all of this situation, that we deserve to be here next season. I say, ‘Who is going to judge me?’.

“I need to judge myself and all the players, and of course with all the circumstances [of the season]. But I wanted to say that it is enough with these type of rumours. If I have one more year on my contract here, and no one says nothing, [I] suppose that I am going to be here. [That changes] only if we then finish the season and someone says to me, ‘ciao’.”

“Because we don’t know at the moment. I suppose I have one more year on my contract and that I am going to be here. But enough about the stupid rumours. You need to ask the club if they want me to keep going or not — not to write things that have no sense.”

Before his final match in charge, Pochettino revealed he met with Boehly over dinner and while he did not delve into the specifics of their conversation, he admitted it as a “very nice” encounter. Fast forward barely a week later, he and the club “mutually agreed to part ways”, sparking a renewed quest for a manager.

Enter Enzo Maresca – who steered Leicester City back to top-tier football at the first time of asking, standing as potentially the third permanent manager since 2022.

His appointment at Stamford Bridge appears imminent, while Pochettino is now on the lookout for his latest job in football.