By CLEMENTE LISI

The Roberto Mancini-Inter soap opera has finally come to an end.

Mancini was sacked today by the Milan-based club, paving the way for former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho to replace him, officials said.

The former Italy striker, who coached Inter to three successive Serie A titles, is favored to take over at English Premiership giants Chelsea and is largely expected to be replaced by Mourinho. Inter, who won the first of their three straight titles in 2006 only because those above them were either demoted or deducted points over the match-fixing scandal, released a statement Thursday about his firing.

“Inter Milan informed Roberto Mancini that he had been relieved of his role as coach of the team, especially because of his comments that he was not going to stay after the end of the season following the Inter Milan vs. Liverpool Champions League match on March 11,” the statement read.

However, Mancini, 43, rescinded those comments the following day, declaring that he had made them in the heat of the moment following Inter’s elimination from the Champions League in humiliating fashion losing 3-0 on aggregate.