Jose Mourinho gets sacked by Tottenham a day after joining European Super League

Jose Mourinho has been sacked by Tottenham Hotspur on the day that the football world was rocked by the formation of a new European Super League (ESL) by 12 prominent clubs from around the continent.

Spurs confirmed the sacking shortly after multiple reports started trickling in that the club has relieved Mourinho and his entire coaching staff of their duties with immediate effect. Ryan Mason will take over temporary managerial duties while being assisted by Chris Powell.

"The Club can today announce that Jose Mourinho and his coaching staff Joao Sacramento, Nuno Santos, Carlos Lalin and Giovanni Cerra have been relieved of their duties," Spurs said via a statement on their website.

The Portuguese manager took over in north London following the sacking of Mauricio Pochettino in 2019. He has guided the club to the Carabao Cup final this season, but will not be in the dugout for the game against Manchester City later this month.

Mourinho's sacking did come as a shock, especially on a day when the entire football world's focus was on how UEFA and FIFA will react towards the 12 clubs, which include Spurs along with Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, United and Liverpool, that combined to start the Super League.

However, according to Athletic, the former Manchester United and Chelsea manager was on borrowed time owing to Spurs' poor form in recent weeks, which has seen them drop to seventh place in the league.

Moreover, the hierarchy is said to have been unhappy with Mourinho's constant criticism of his players in public and were very conscious about how the fans had turned on the manager.

Meanwhile, the north London club's chairman, Daniel Levy, praised the Portuguese boss for his contribution during a challenging year while also admitting regret that they could not achieve what they had initially planned.

"Jose is a true professional who showed enormous resilience during the pandemic. On a personal level I have enjoyed working with him and regret that things have not worked out as we both had envisaged. He will always be welcome here," Levy said.

According to Italian transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, the club's search for the next manager is already underway with the new boss expected to take charge from June.