The following day he took training, ate Christmas lunch with his players, and returned to his office to find Tenenbaum waiting for him. The Chelsea director, and long-term aide to Abramovich, said that the board had decided to sack the manager. After leaving that afternoon, Mourinho spoke to his players by phone. When he returned at 10.30am the following day they were already training. He cleared his office of personal items and left all his initialled training kit in the corridor outside his door. He then shook the hand or hugged all members of staff at Cobham, some of whom were in tears, but left without seeing any of the club hierarchy. During that morning Abramovich did address the players. Mourinho will return to Portugal in the next few days to see his father Jose Mourinho Felix, who has been seriously ill.