Chelsea star lashes out after Pochettino exit

Tom Weber

Updated: 22 May 2024 09:29 CDT
3 min read

Nicolas Jackson made no attempt to hide his frustration at the news of Mauricio Pochettino's Chelsea departure.

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The Blues announced on Tuesday evening that the Argentine had departed the club after just one season in charge. Rather than sacking Pochettino, the two parties had agreed to amicably part ways following Chelsea's end-of-season review.

Differences in philosophy, a disagreement over how much control the coach should have and the awkward length of Pochettino's contract - its expiration would have coincided with the 2025 Club World Cup in which Chelsea will participate - informed the decision.

Nevertheless, it still came as a shock and Chelsea's players were not aware of the fact that the 52-year-old would leave the club. Most of them found out via social media and many were quick to simply thank the Argentine for all he had done for them.

Some, however, broke rank and did not hide their frustration at the decision.

Jackson fumes over Pochettino exit

One of the most blunt responses came from striker Nicolas Jackson. The 22-year-old posted a picture of himself with Pochettino on Instagram and added two facepalm emojis before publishing the following message, which again featured a facepalm emoji: "Love you coach. Wish we could stay together more."

"But may God continue to bless you and your family. Thanks for the advices and support, you're a true lion and a fighter, wish you all the best." Record signing Moises Caicedo included an emoji shedding a tear in his social media message, while full-back Marc Cucurella, whose Chelsea career was recently revived by Pochettino, posted three shocked emojis.

The Telegraph goes so far as to claim that the Chelsea players' WhatsApp groups had gone 'into meltdown' following the news. One source told the outlet: "The players could not believe it. They had no idea until the news broke and it started going around their WhatsApp groups. Most of them really liked Poch, so they were pretty upset."