Sept. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Jose Mourinho, Chelsea's most successful coach, has left the English soccer team, ending a three-year reign marked by domestic trophies, near misses in European competition and disputes with owner Roman Abramovich.

Chelsea Director of Football Avram Grant will take over, with former player Steve Clarke appointed assistant coach, the BBC said on its Web site, without revealing where it got the information. Chelsea spokesman Simon Taylor declined to comment and said a statement will be issued today.

Mourinho, 44, sent text messages to senior players, including captain John Terry, informing them of his departure yesterday, less than 24 hours after a 1-1 home draw with Rosenborg in the Champions League, the Times reported.

``Chelsea and Jose Mourinho have agreed to part company by mutual consent,'' Chelsea said in a statement on its Web site at about 1:45 a.m. today.

The Portuguese coach led Chelsea to Premiership titles in his first two years and came close to leaving last season after clashing with Russian billionaire Abramovich over player recruitment and the team's style of play.

Grant, the former coach of the Israeli national team, is a friend of Abramovich and has sat on the club's board since joining from Portsmouth in July. Mourinho said he didn't want Grant to interfere in team affairs.

Coral spokesman Simon Clare said in a phone interview that the bookmaker installed Grant as the 1-3 favorite to take over before closing the market pending Chelsea's statement.

Lackluster Start

Chelsea, which faces Manchester United in three days, is fifth in the Premier League following a defeat to Aston Villa and draws with Liverpool and Blackburn. Fans booed at the end of the Rosenborg game, which was watched by a crowd of fewer than 25,000 -- the lowest at Stamford Bridge in four years.

An emergency board meeting at the London stadium last night finished early today, newspapers including the Times reported, after Abramovich broke off a business trip for talks with his aide Eugene Tenenbaum.

Jorge Mendes, Mourinho's agent, will fly to London to negotiate a payoff for his 5.2 million-pound-a-year ($10.4 million) contract, the Times said, adding that Mourinho may have been fired. The Telegraph said the two-time Premiership manager of the year resigned after being summoned to the meeting and losing patience with the club's politics.

Lack of Goals

Even with his run-ins with Abramovich, Mourinho's departure was unexpected. Coral yesterday rated him the fifth-favorite Premier League manager to lose his job next at odds of 25-1.

Chelsea Chief Executive Officer Peter Kenyon two days ago gave his backing to Mourinho while adding that Abramovich wanted the team to play more attractively. Chelsea has scored seven goals in six Premier League games this season.

While Mourinho led Chelsea to the F.A. Cup last season, beating Manchester United in the final, and the League Cup, the Blues lost in the semifinals of the Champions League to Liverpool. It was their third semifinal loss in four years.

Abramovich, Russia's richest man, has spent more than 375 million pounds on players since buying Chelsea in 2003 with the aim of winning the Champions League, Europe's most prestigious competition, for the first time.

Mourinho joined in June 2004 less than a week after leading Porto to the Champions League title. He made an immediate impact as Chelsea won the Premier League for the first time in 50 years and repeated as champion the next year. In all, Mourinho led Chelsea to 124 wins, 40 draws and 21 losses.

`Special One'

One of the league's most flamboyant coaches, Mourinho jokingly described himself as a ``special one'' at a press conference, setting the tone for a tenure in which his outspokenness got him in trouble.

He and the club were fined after he accused Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard of entering the referee's room at halftime of a match. He also was sanctioned for his part in an illegal approach to Arsenal defender Ashley Cole, who later joined.

The team finished as runner-up to Manchester United last season amid reports that Mourinho was on the verge of quitting. The coach was irked by his lack of say in the hiring of Ukraine striker Andriy Shevchenko from AC Milan, the board's refusal to strengthen the team in January and the hiring of Grant as director of football, the Sun and other newspapers reported.

Club Support

Mourinho's contract, renewed after the 2005 title, was due to run through 2010. In January, he said he would see it out if he felt he had the support of the club's board.

The Blues have been linked in media reports with managers including ex-Juventus coach Didier Deschamps, Milan's Carlo Ancelotti, Russia's Guus Hiddink, former Italy coach Marcello Lippi and Rijkaard. The Times said Abramovich offered the job to former Germany coach Jurgen Klinsmann after last season.

Chelsea last month broke Liverpool's record of 63 unbeaten home matches in the English top division, all but three of which were under the Portuguese. Mourinho, who never played professionally, also won the 2005 League Cup with Chelsea, while also clinching the Portuguese league twice, the UEFA Cup and the Portuguese Cup in his 2 1/2 years at Porto.

Mourinho, who brought 23 players to the club for total fees of 182 million pounds, is rated a 3-1 chance to join Barcelona next, 4-1 to move to Real Madrid and 5-1 to go to Tottenham, Coral's Clare added.

To contact the reporter on this story: Grant Clark in Chiang Mai, Thailand at gclark@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: September 20, 2007 05:03 EDT