London: Porto have announced that Andre Villas-Boas has left the club after receiving payment of his release fee, paving the way for the coach to take over at Chelsea.
The Portuguese champions, who went unbeaten in the league last season and picked up a domestic cup as well as the Europa League, have announced that Villas-Boas's assistant, Vitor Pereira, will take charge of the team.
Villas-Boas tendered his resignation with the side early on Tuesday following reports that Chelsea had been in contact to bring him in as Carlo Ancelotti's successor. A dispute over his 13.2 million pounds release fee has been resolved, allowing the 33-year-old to begin formal talks to take over at Stamford Bridge.
A statement released by Porto reads: "Futebol Clube do Porto come to inform the market we have received from Mr. Andre Villas-Boas the figure stated in the release clause of his working contract, so the consummation of the termination of his working and sporting link with Futebol Clube do Porto only depends on the formalisation of the respective instrument of contractual termination.
"Futebol Clube do Porto also inform we have celebrated with the new coach of our main squad, the Professor Vitor Manuel de Oliveira Lopes Pereira, a sporting working contract, valid for two seasons, starting immediately."
Chelsea have also released a statement via their official website, confirming that they are in talks with Villas-Boas over personal terms.
The statement reads: "We note that the release clause of Andre Villas-Boas has been activated. We can at this time confirm our interest in him and hope to reach agreement with him on personal terms and make a further announcement in the near future."
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