Chelsea players shocked by how Chelsea fired Potter

Chelsea announced the dismissal of Potter on the evening of April 2, London time. According to the Telegraph, the players only knew through this announcement. After that, some players called their representatives in shock when they told about the incident.

Before being fired, Potter was still present at Cobham headquarters and took the field to direct the players in training the same day. British media also said that, although Chelsea had just lost to Aston Villa 0-2 and fell to 11th place in the Premier League, Potter would still work at least until the end of the season.

According to the Telegraph, two sporting directors, Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley, were behind the decision to fire Potter. They accelerated this from the afternoon of April 2 and was approved by two Chelsea co-owners - Chairman Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital Fund - approved. Chelsea is said to not have to compensate the entire 68 million salary for the remaining four and a half years of the contract with the 47-year-old coach.

The 0-2 loss to Aston Villa on April 1 was the 11th defeat in Potter's 31 Chelsea matches, remaining 12 wins and eight draws.

Chelsea is currently 11th in the Premier League with 38 points, their lowest position since the beginning of the 2022-2023 season. With 12 points behind the fourth ranked team Man Utd and playing more than one game, the Stamford Bridge team has almost no hope of winning tickets to the Champions League with a place in the top 4.

In the League Cup and FA Cup, Chelsea were also soon eliminated. They all lost to Man City in the third round with a score of 0-2 and 0-4.

The brightest point of Potter's brief reign was reaching the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Chelsea lead Group E with 13 points, before beating Dortmund with a final score of 2-1 in the 1/8 round. Chelsea will play two quarter-final matches against Real on April 12 and 18. If they overcome the defending champion, they will enter the semi-finals to meet the winner of the Man City - Bayern pair.

"Potter took the team to the quarter-finals of the Champions League, where we will meet Real Madrid," the Chelsea statement read. "Chelsea thanks Graham for all Potter's efforts and contributions, and wish him all the best in the future."

Chelsea appoint Bruno Saltor, Potter's assistant, as interim coach until a new coach is found. Bruno only had experience leading the Brighton youth team before working as Potter's assistant.

According to bookmakers, former Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann is the number one candidate to replace Potter with odds of 10/11 (put 11 to 10). Former Tottenham and PSG coach Mauricio Pochettino ranked second with a ratio of 7/2. Former Real coach Zinedine Zidane ranked third with a ratio of 6/1.

Potter is the second manager to be sacked by Chelsea this season. Previously, President Boehly sacked Thomas Tuchel after only the first seven games, due to disagreements over how to build the team. Tuchel has just arrived at Bayern to replace Nagelsmann.