Jose Mourinho has been dismissed as Tottenham Hotspur manager this past Monday morning.
Mourinho joined Spurs in November 2019 and led the club to the EFL Cup final which takes place this weekend at Wembley. However, Mourinho will not take charge of the clash against Manchester City on Sunday.
Spurs are currently seventh in the Premier League table, five points off the top four with six games of the season remaining. They last played on Friday night in a 2-2 draw away to Carlo Ancelotti's Everton with the decision to relieve Mourinho of his duties reportedly coming in the immediate aftermath. It is believed that Mourinho had lost the support of the majority of his squad.
The news comes just hours after Tottenham were announced as one of the 12 founding members of the new breakaway European Super League.
Spurs were briefly top of the Premier League in December after a strong start to the domestic campaign, predominantly due to the devastating partnership of Son Heung-min and Harry Kane in attack.
Their form and results deteriorated rapidly thereafter with Mourinho becoming more publicly critical of his players' performance and attitude in recent weeks. Playmaker Dele Alli, for example, has been cast aside all season and the loan signing of Gareth Bale from Real Madrid has largely been a failure.
Mourinho is renowned as a trophy-winner at every club he has managed since FC Porto, so this decision will come as a bitter blow just six days out from the showdown with Pep Guardiola's side. A win there would represent Spurs' first trophy since 2008 when they beat Chelsea in the decider of the same competition.
Tottenham have released a statement on Monday via the club's official website confirming the news that also sees Mourinho's coaching staff of Joao Sacramento, Nuno Santos, Carlos Lalin and Giovanni Cerra depart the club with immediate effect.
Former club midfielder Ryan Mason will oversee first-team training on Monday and act as interim head coach for the rest of the season. Commenting on Mourinho's departure, Spurs 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."
The 58-year-old was appointed by Tottenham 17 months ago, replacing the sacked Mauricio Pochettino who had taken Spurs to the Champions League final the previous summer.
Mourinho's tenure coincided with the filming of the Amazon Prime documentary, All or Nothing: Tottenham Hotspur where the Portuguese's galvanising and combative nature was on display throughout the series. One of the most memorable scenes showcased an argument between Mourinho and the long-serving left-back Danny Rose who soon left the club on loan only to return and be subsequently frozen out.
He could though be seen bonding with utility man Eric Dier in his native tongue and inspiring the likes of Son and Kane to develop their game further. The club concluded last season by qualifying for the Europa League on the final day of the campaign. Since the turn of this year, it appeared as though they were destined for a similar fate under Mourinho.
The manager has paid the price as club disharmony seemed to increase with each passing month of late, the nadir of which saw an embarrassing Round of 16 Europa League exit at the hands of Dinamo Zagreb last month where Spurs blew a 2-0 first-leg advantage.
They are now on the search for another permanent manager less than 24 hours after confirming the start of their new era in the hugely controversial European Super League.
Spurs next play on Wednesday evening against Southampton in the Premier League at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium before contesting the League Cup final this Sunday.
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