Eden Hazard, Cesc Fabregas 'instrumental in Jose Mourinho axe'

Eden Hazard and Cesc Fabregas were reportedly "instrumental" in Roman Abramovich's decision to fire Jose Mourinho as Chelsea manager on Thursday.

The Portuguese was relieved from his post at Stamford Bridge amid reports of discord with some of his players and the club flirting with the relegation zone after a run of nine defeats in 16 outings.

According to NBC Sports, Fabregas was "the main opponent to Mourinho" and had "complained to Chelsea's hierarchy" after finding himself on the bench in recent months.

Hazard, meanwhile, was also "leading the charge" for Mourinho to go after his manager appeared to criticise him for coming off injured in Leicester during what turned out to be his final game at the helm.

Both players have failed to recapture their form from the title-winning 2014-15 season, with Belgian Hazard firing blanks in his 24 appearances in all competitions and Fabregas notching just one goal against Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Champions League.