Chelsea chief executive Ron Gourlay said on Wednesday he was leaving Stamford Bridge after a decade in which Chelsea were crowned kings of Europe but also suffered plenty of off-field dramas too.
Gourlay said in a statement he was off to “pursue new business challenges” after five years in his current role.
Chelsea admitted Ron have helped the club to achieve its position as one of the leading football clubs in the world.
Chelsea won the Champions League for the first time in 2012, but they were also criticized for their handling of the John Terry affair when the FA found their skipper guilty of racially abusing Anton Ferdinand of Queens Park Rangers, then in October 2011.
Gourlay leaves the club with the team at the top of the Premier League and a day after they won Maribor 6-0 in the Champions League, their record victory in the competition.