London, Sep 21 (IANS) Sacked manager Jose Mourinho has agreed to a compensation package, expected to be worth nearly 20 million pounds for the three remaining years of his contract, with Chelsea and said he was “proud” of what he had achieved with the London football club.
Mourinho was replaced by Avram Grant as Chelsea manager Thursday.
Chelsea also confirmed that Mourinho’s backroom staff has left the club. Assistant managers Baltemar Brito and Rui Faria, head opposition scout Andre Villas and goalkeeping coach Silvino Louro have all departed Stamford Bridge.
And after spending several hours at Stamford Bridge, Mourinho and Chelsea came to an agreement on his contract.
A club statement read: “Chelsea has reached an agreement on all contractual arrangements with Jose Mourinho.”
Mourinho’s three-year reign at Chelsea ended late Wednesday when he left by “mutual consent”.
“I am very proud of my work in Chelsea Football Club and I think my decision in May 2004 to come to England was an excellent one,” Mourinho told waiting media persons at Stamford Bridge Thursday evening.
“It was a beautiful and rich period of my career. I want to thank all Chelsea supporters for what I believe is a never-ending love story.”
Earlier Thursday, Chelsea released an “open letter to their fans” to thank supporters for their “patience and understanding during what has been a difficult time”.
The statement said: “The reason the decision has been taken is that we believed the breakdown (between Mourinho and owner Roman Abramovich) started to impact on the performance of the team.
“Recent results supported this view. We did not want this to continue or affect the club further.”
The club praised Mourinho for his achievements, which included winning successive English Premier League titles.