Two Chelsea stars respond to Mauricio Pochettino after exit statement

Chelsea captain Reece James and defender Marc Cucurella have responded to Mauricio Pochettino after he released a statement to the supporters on Tuesday morning.

Last month, Pochettino and the Blues agreed to part ways after the club conducted an end-of-season review. The Argentine’s tenure at Stamford Bridge was tumultuous to say the least.

After a difficult start, Chelsea managed to recover to win seven of their last ten Premier League matches and finish the season sixth. However, it was agreed between both parties that Pochettino’s time at the club should come to an end.

On Monday, the club announced Enzo Maresca as Pochettino’s successor. Following the news, the 52-year-old wrote on Tuesday via Instagram: “To the owners, the sporting directors we appreciate the opportunity to return to the Premier League at this great club Chelsea and for the support you gave us, as well as from all the players, staff and fans – thank you.

“We understand how important this football club is to you all and that is why we work so hard to give you a Chelsea you can be proud of. I am so pleased with the level the team reached and the way the players and staff have all worked so hard to increase their standards, they deserve great credit and I hope you felt that too in how they performed on the pitch.

“We know there have been ups and downs but we always believed in this team and that we would arrive at a consistent level. I believe the experiences of this season and big improvement we saw, I hope will only make the players stronger for the future.

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“It has been a pleasure to work with them all and we appreciate the strong bonds we created in this last year together. I want to wish all of you the best for next season and beyond.

“It is great that we have the chance to return to Stamford Bridge so soon with Soccer Aid this weekend and I hope that we get to see some of you there too. I hope you all get to have a great summer.”

In response to the post, both James and Cucurella ‘liked’ it on the platform. At the time of writing, no other members of the squad have liked or commented on the statement.