'Jose Mourinho demanded I get him out of Chelsea – I could see it coming'

'Jose Mourinho demanded I get him out of Chelsea – I could see it coming'After he decided he wanted out of Chelsea, Jose Mourinho asked the club's chief executive to help him engineer an exitCommentsSportHarry Brent Senior Sports Writer11:30, 19 Apr 2026View 4 ImagesJose Mourinho's Chelsea exit came out of the blue(Image: Getty Images)Jose Mourinho's first reign at Chelsea was utterly spectacular. But it ended far more suddenly than most anticipated, as former Blues chief executive Peter Kenyon has now revealed.‌After arriving from Porto in 2004 and famously labelling himself "the special one," Mourinho reshaped Chelsea into a powerhouse. He won consecutive Premier League titles and added three domestic trophies in just three seasons. His personality, self-belief and forward-thinking tactics distinguished Chelsea, enabling them to blow opponents away with remarkable authority.‌However, early in his fourth campaign, things began to fall apart. As Kenyon - who moved to Chelsea from Manchester United in 2003 - explained, the underlying issue was a gradual but significant shift in the dynamic between Mourinho and club owner Roman Abramovich, which eventually resulted in Mourinho leaving in September 2007.‌"Jose came to me and said, 'Pete, get me out of here, will you?' And we sorted it [Mourinho's exit] that night," Kenyon said on the High Performance podcast.FOLLOW OUR CHELSEA FB PAGE! Latest Blues news and more on our dedicated Facebook pageREAD MORE: Jose Mourinho ‘genuine contender’ for Premier League return after telling commentsREAD MORE: Former Chelsea star looks unrecognisable after Premier League winner vowed to become monkChelsea's early achievements under Abramovich were founded on what Kenyon calls a 'holy trinity' involving himself, Mourinho and the owner - three individuals united in vision and decision-making. However, as Abramovich's knowledge of football grew, so did his inv...