People, its getting serious. One rumour gets overlooked, two get brushed aside, but when I start seeing multiple sources all saying the same thing, I get worried. The word on the wire this week is that Mourinho is prepared to leave Chelsea, not just at the end of the season as some reports were saying, but immediately.
Jose makes an annual salary of roughly 5.2 million pounds, with additional bonuses if he wins any big trophies. According to this source, it will cost Abramovich around 25 million pounds to buy out the remainder of Jose's contract. If the Russian billionare decides that his kids daily allowance can be put on hold and instead given to Jose, then the Portuguese might leave much sooner than anyone has anticipated.
Of course, there are those of us who would be devasted to see Mourinho go, certain Chelsea players included. John Terry has come out publicly that he would be prepared to gather some senior members of the team and speak to Chelsea's board about the issue, stating that he would hate to see JM go. Frank Lampard has been rumoured to follow Jose wherever he goes, so his departure may occur as well.
As for possible managers of the club when and if Mourinho does leave, the top two rumours seem to be Russian Guus Hiddink or recent world cup winner Marcello Lippi. I personally think that Mourinho is still the best in the business and should remain at Chelsea, but if forced to pick a sucessor it would have to be Lippi. His sucess amidst scandal was unprecedented and his Italian stress of defense would mix well with Chelsea's already strong backline (when all the injuries go away that is).