Manchester United manager David Moyes has been sacked, only 10 months after succeeding Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford.
The club had previously refused to comment on national newspaper reports on Monday that Moyes would be dismissed before the end of the season.
Moyes, 50, was chosen by Ferguson as the man to succeed him when he retired after 26 years in charge last summer.
Moyes left Everton to sign a six-year deal with the Premier League champions.
In a statement the club said it “would like to place on record its thanks for the hard work, honesty and integrity he brought to the role”.
United, who currently lie in seventh place in the table with four games remaining, will record their lowest ever points tally in the Premier League having struggled at Old Trafford in particular.
Under Moyes, they have lost six league games at home, been beaten in the FA Cup by Swansea and were unable to prevent Sunderland knocking them out of the Capital One Cup in the semi-finals.
In March, some supporters chartered a plane to fly overhead trailing a banner with the words “Wrong One – Moyes Out” – a reference to the banner at Old Trafford that proclaimed Moyes to be the “Chosen One” – during the Premier League win over Aston Villa.
Credit: BBC