The Argentine, now preparing the United States for this summer's World Cup, inherited a side sitting 12th in the Premier League and without European football of any kind. He finished the season sixth, won the last five or six games, and reached the Carabao Cup final and the FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City.
He believed the club was building towards something. The hierarchy did not share that view.
Speaking on The Overlap with Gary Neville, Pochettino was candid about the moment the relationship broke down.
"What I understood, didn't happen after. Maybe I was wrong."
"Under our assessment and our vision, it was a normal process to create something solid for the future. We finished sixth, we arrived at the final of the Carabao Cup. In both games we deserved to go through. But we were in a very good way."
He was clear the decision to leave was his own.
"When things didn't match what was our vision, we said it's better to split — it's better to give the possibility to the club to do what they want. I'm not complaining because the decision was my decision to leave the club."
But he was pointed about what drove the breakdown — Chelsea's treatment of football as a data optimisation problem at the expense of human connection.
"We sometimes underestimate the analogue things. In technology, the digital has put the analogue in the bin. But in football it's not like this. There are still things you cannot measure with data or science. It's still a game that keeps some mystery or some mystique that you cannot identify."
He challenged the club's football department directly.
"When you can identify the question that a player that plays here is going to perform in that environment, in those circumstances, you are going to be the richest people in the world. But that doesn't exist. Because that is about things you need to smell. Football is a context of emotion. You cannot put this in the bin."
He also argued the emotional bond between players and staff is structural, not optional.
"For players to perform, they need to be attached to the coaches. If not, it's difficult. You need to connect in an emotional way."
Pochettino was reportedly backed by chairman Todd Boehly but co-owner Behdad Eghbali and co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart were less convinced. Chelsea later replaced him with Enzo Maresca, describing Pochettino internally as too old-school for their project.
His comments will land with particular weight at a club now on its fourth permanent manager in two years.