Chelsea sacked Jose Mourinho right after Christmas meal in brutal 10-minute meeting

A matter of days before Christmas 2015, Chelsea gave Jose Mourinho the sack instead of a stocking.

Almost a decade on from his second dismissal by the west Londoners, Mourinho makes his return to Stamford Bridge, this time at the helm of Benfica in the Champions League. He has a chance to turn up the heat on current Blues manager Enzo Maresca, who has suffered defeats in his last two Premier League matches and kicked off his European campaign with a 3-1 loss away to Bayern Munich.

Despite concerns over Chelsea's recent form of three losses, a draw and a single win - which was the less than convincing 2-1 triumph over Lincoln City in the League Cup - in their last five outings, Maresca's position is believed to be secure, at least for the moment.

Mourinho is no stranger to the chop at Chelsea, having been shown the door twice by the Roman Abramovich regime. While Mourinho maintains he harbours no ill feelings towards the Blues, the second dismissal would have undoubtedly hurt.

Instead of festive cheer, Mourinho was handed his P45 by Chelsea, barely half a year after leading them to Premier League success. In the summer of 2015, Mourinho was being doused in bubbly after steering the west Londoners to their third Premier League crown under his guidance.

Approaching the festive period of the 2015/16 season, Mourinho's Christmas fizz would have been rather bitter given the Blues' dismal Premier League form of nine defeats in their opening 16 league matches of the campaign.

Just three days following their 2-1 reverse against surprise title winners Leicester City, Mourinho was tucking into turkey and all the trimmings whilst tugging on Christmas crackers with his squad and fellow Chelsea personnel.

But before the Christmas pudding had time to burn out, he found himself clearing out his desk at Stamford Bridge. As reported by the Daily Mail, Mourinho's journey went directly from the staff festive lunch to Abramovich's office, where chairman Bruce Buck and director Eugene Tenenbaum were also present.

The discussion lasted merely 10 minutes, though it emerged there had been weeks of negotiations between the Blues' legal team and Mourinho's representative concerning the Portuguese tactician's £250,000-per-week deal. Sporting director Michael Emenalo emphasised the choice to dismiss Mourinho had been determined weeks beforehand.

He said: "That contract clearly signifies that what has happened today was not a pre-meditated decision. It was a decision taken to protect the interests of the club. While there is huge sentiment for the individual who has done so much for the club, the fact of the matter remains that Chelsea Football Club is in trouble. The results are not good.

"There obviously seemed to be a palpable discord between manager and players, and we felt it was the time to act. The owner was forced to make a very tough decision for the good of the club.

"Make no mistake about it, Chelsea - one of the biggest clubs in the world - are one point above relegation in the Premier League and that's not good enough. Any fan who loves the club or has any kind of affiliation to the club can understand that something needed to be done."

It was eventually confirmed publicly on December 17, 2015, Mourinho had been relieved of his duties, with Chelsea stating they had separated "by mutual consent."

The official club statement at the time declared: "The club wishes to make clear Jose leaves us on good terms and will always remain a much-loved, respected and significant figure at Chelsea."

Almost ten years on, Mourinho, who appeared enthused by the possibility of potentially causing problems for his former employers, maintains Chelsea still occupy a special place in his affections. During his pre-match press conference, the Benfica manager said: "I will always be a Blue. I am part of their history. They are part of my history.

"I helped them to become a bigger Chelsea, and they helped me to become a bigger Jose. It will be my Chelsea before the start of the game and after the game but during the game it's my Benfica and that's all that matters. When I say I am not a Blue, I am only speaking about the job I have to do tomorrow."

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