Tottenham Hotspur sack Jose Mourinho after 17 months – and just days before cup final
Tottenham Hotspur have sacked manager Jose Mourinho, the club has confirmed.
The move comes less than a week before the Carabao Cup final and just 17 months after his appointment.
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.”
First-team coach Ryan Mason will take charge on an interim basis.
Mourinho arrived to great fanfare in November 2019 but appears to have paid the price for a recent slump in Tottenham’s form.
Spurs finished sixth in the Premier League last season. This year they lie seventh, five points off the top four, despite having led the table before Christmas.
They have dropped more points from winning positions than any other top-flight team. They also crashed out of the Europa League against Dinamo Zagreb despite winning the first leg 2-0.
Former Chelsea and Manchester United manager Mourinho has blamed the squad for the downturn.
Asked this month why Tottenham were dropping so many points compared to his previous teams, he said: “Same coach, different players.”
Tottenham are due to face Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday as they look to end a first trophy since 2008.
On Sunday, Spurs were one of 12 clubs to confirm they have signed up to play in a breakaway European Super League.