Antonio Conte has been sacked by Chelsea after two years in charge at Stamford Bridge.
It was understood that the Italian who won the Premier League title and the FA Cup during his two-year reign was told he was axed by Chelsea Chairman Bruce Buck at a meeting today.
The first-team players were given the afternoon off from their pre-season training regime.
Buck was seen leaving the training ground at 2.10pm in his classic Porsche after delivering the news, which has been expected since the end of last season.
Conte was driven to training this morning by his assistant manager Carlo Cudicini, the former Chelsea and Spurs goalkeeper.
The 48-year-old had reported back for duty at the start of the week and began taking first team pre-season training as usual.
At the same time the Blues board had been busy trying to agree a deal which would see Napoli boss Maurizio Sarri take charge of the club.
Those talks have now reached a conclusion, with Napoli giving the green light for Sarri, 59, to move to the Premier League.
It is believed he will have Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola as part of his backroom staff.
