Jose Mourinho will be confirmed as Chelsea's new manager later today or tomorrow despite Porto's protestation that no English clubs have contacted them regarding his future. He will bring with him three or more Porto players and most of his :

bq. ... despite a statement from Porto's vice-president Fernando Gomes that no club had contacted them over Mourinho, who has two years left on his contract, Chelsea were in talks yesterday with the Portuguese champions and will pay compensation of around €1.5m (£1m). Porto held a board meeting and it is thought they intend to approach former Real Madrid coach Vicente Del Bosque.

bq. Mourinho, 41, who agreed a four-year deal worth €24m (£4.1m a year), five times his current salary and the highest in domestic football, will not arrive on his own. He has all but secured the play-maker Deco for €20m (£14m) and the midfielder Costinho for between €8-10m (£5.5-£7m). A third deal, for right-back Paulo Ferreira, is being resisted while the midfielder Maniche may move to Chelsea instead. Porto will also lose much of their backroom staff...

Chelsea Football Club has confirmed that Claudio Ranieri is to leave Stamford Bridge :

bq. A Chelsea spokesperson said: "Chelsea Football Club today announced that Claudio Ranieri is to leave the club.

bq. "Claudio has done a first class job for the club and paved the way for future success.

bq. "We would like to wish Claudio all the best for the future. We are discussing the exact terms of his departure with him and his representatives."

Obviously not unexpected. It's been on the cards for weeks, if not months. Still, I did feel a twinge of sadness.

Thank you, Claudio

*Related links:*

* Claudio Ranieri Factfile * The Longest Goodbye * Thanks for the memories *

Football365 claim that Claudio Ranieri will be sacked today (Monday):

bq. Claudio Ranieri will finally be put out of his misery today when he is sacked by Chelsea.

bq. Football365 can reveal that Ranieri has been summoned to Stamford Bridge, where he will finally be told his fate.

bq. This follows two meetings last week with first Peter Kenyon in London and then Roman Abramovich in Milan when he expected to be sacked, only to be find himself talking about tactics.

bq. But after Chelsea got assurances from Porto boss Jose Mourinho at the weekend, they are now free to dispense with Ranieri's services.

bq. Mourinho will be officially unveiled as new Chelsea boss within the next 48 hours.

bq. Ranieri is expected to walk away with an £8m pay-off -- £6m for the remaining three years of his contract and an extra £2m to allegedly prevent him publicising details of his treatment at the club.

h3. Claudio leaving • Update

Sky Sports News has just (17:35 BST) confirmed that Ranieri is leaving Chelsea.

Barcelona admit to Blues' Ronaldinho bid :

bq. Barcelona have confirmed Chelsea have made an offer to Ronaldinho and have revealed Real Madrid may also lodge a block-busting bid for the Brazilian.

bq. Ronaldinho is reportedly heading Chelsea's summer shopping list with money seemingly no object for The Blues' billionaire owner Roman Abramovich.

bq. The Samba star enjoyed a magnificent debut season at Camp Nou but Chelsea are aiming to tempt him away from Catalunya just 12 months after his arrival from Paris Saint Germain.

bq. Barca's vice president Sandro Rosell has revealed Chelsea have offered Ronaldinho a phenomenal salary to move to Stamford Bridge.

Roman Abramovich has not yet decided who'll be in charge at Stamford Bridge next season :

bq. According to a Russian friend of Roman Abramovich, it is still not certain that Claudio Ranieri will be leaving Stamford Bridge. The well-placed source, who has been a regular guest at Stamford Bridge this season, has told visitors to the Russian Cup final that the billionaire has not yet decided who will be in charge in August and that it could still be the Italian.

bq. 'He [Abramovich] has not yet decided about Claudio yet. It is still 50-50 whether he will stay,' said the friend.

It is also claimed that Abramovich was due to attend the Russian Cup Final in the company of Rio Ferdinand:

bq. Abramovich is in Russia, where he was due to attend the final in the company of Rio Ferdinand, according to the source. However, the Manchester United defender was unable to obtain a visa. 'He would have been there otherwise,' it was claimed.

Draw your own conclusions. (To be honest I'm struggling to keep up with it all. I just wish they would hurry up and sort it out.)