'Situation had been on a knife-edge' - why has this happened?

Mauricio Pochettino's departure from Chelsea will surprise many but the situation had been on a knife-edge.

Even though they had finished the Premier League season with a five-game winning run, there was huge uncertainty behind the scenes.

Chairman Todd Boehly had called for patience and met the Argentine on Friday before the final game of the season.

But less was known about the opinions of other senior board members - including, most notably, co-controlling owner Behdad Eghbali.

In reality, Eghbali is the key decision-maker at Stamford Bridge and will have been a crucial voice in the end-of-season meeting.

He has been in London with fellow Clearlake Capital co-founder and board member Jose Feliciano since Chelsea won the Women’s Super League on Saturday.

They, along with the two sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, will have been the loudest voices in the room, despite support for Pochettino from the squad and senior staff.

Of course, this is an ending by mutual consent, and signs of discontent from Pochettino were apparent at news conferences about injuries and the composition of his young, inexperienced squad.

This exposed the decision-makers to criticism.

Privately, he is understood to have been open to continuing depending on the outcome of the post-season meeting, but also to have aired concerns in the final weeks of his tenure.

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