Mourinho bids farewell to Chelsea players

Jose Mourinho made one last farewell to Chelsea’s players today after his shock exit from the Premiership giants.

The 44-year-old dashed past waiting reporters and photographers as he left the club’s training ground in Cobham, Surrey, but refused to comment on his sudden departure.

His visit came as Chelsea moved swiftly to announce a successor, appointing the club’s director of football and assistant manager to take charge.

Chelsea announced Mourinho had left the club by “mutual consent” in the early hours of this morning.

It followed reports that the manager – dubbed the “special one” – had texted five senior players telling them he was leaving.

The terms of his exit are not entirely clear but it is thought the Portuguese manager may have left with a multi-million pound pay-off.

Mourinho led Chelsea to two Barclays Premier League titles after joining in June 2004 but their disappointing start to the new season heaped pressure on the manager.

He still had three years left on a contract worth £6.5m a year.

Many commentators queued up to heap praise on the achievements of Mourinho, who made headlines for his eccentric comments as well as his winning ways.

They even included Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who said he was one of the “great characters of the game”.

Mr Brown’s spokesman said: “The Prime Minister is a football fan and somebody who enjoys watching Premiership games, so he knows Mourinho has a fantastic record of success.

“He’s made a significant contribution to British football in a short period of time and he’s also one of the great characters of the game.”