After weeks of speculations, the exit of Maurizio Sarri from Chelsea to Juventus has now been confirmed.
In an official statement on the Blues website, it was confirmed that Sarri has been granted his wish to leave the London club back to Italy.
As reflected in Sunday’s statement, both Chelsea and Juventus have reached an agreement for the early termination of Sarri’s contract with Chelsea FC which had two years left to run and is ending at his request.
Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia said: ‘In talks we had following the Europa League final, Maurizio made it clear how strongly he desired to return to his native country, explaining that his reasons for wanting to return to work in Italy were significant.’
‘He also believed it important to be nearer his family, and for the well-being of his elderly parents he felt he needed to live closer to them at this point.
‘Maurizio leaves Chelsea with thanks from us all for the work he and his assistants did during the season he spent as our head coach, and for winning the Europa League, guiding us to another cup final and a third-place finish in the Premier League.
“We would also like to congratulate him on securing the role as big as any in Serie A and to wish him the best of luck for the future.”
Sarri moved to London last summer, joining the Blues from Napoli, and his Chelsea side made a strong start to the Premier League campaign.
The coach won his first five games and went unbeaten in all competitions from the start of the league season until late November when Chelsea suffered a reverse against Tottenham at Wembley.
Progression from the group stage of the Europa League was comfortable and a home Premier League win against eventual champions Manchester City a highlight in December.
At the end of the campaign, Sarri won the Europa League for Chelsea and also returned them to Champions League football.
With Juventus heads and shoulders above their peers in Italy, Sarri’s main task will be to deliver the elusive Champions League trophy for the Turin giants.