Mayor Bill de Blasio on Wednesday claimed that outgoing NYPD Chief of Patrol Fausto Pichardo called it quits as a personal and family decision — not over a pattern of micromanagement by Hizzoner.

“I spoke to him last night several times, I spoke to him this morning,” said de Blasio in his daily press briefing. “This was a personal decision based on personal and family factors.”

Pichardo, 43, abruptly resigned on Tuesday, with multiple NYPD sources saying he was fed up with micromanaging by the mayor that came to a head last week when de Blasio summoned him to City Hall for a dressing-down over a missed phone call, then harangued him with text messages over a small-fry house party in The Bronx.

Sources said Pichardo hit his breaking point after working a days-long tour covering protests against state-imposed coronavirus lockdowns in Borough Park last week — only to be harangued by the mayor afterward.

De Blasio on Wednesday acknowledged having a sit-down with Pichardo shortly before his resignation, but insisted it’s been blown out of proportion.

“There was one thing we needed to talk about and I think there was some miscommunication,” he said. “I understand people like to take small facts and exaggerate them.”

He maintained that Pichardo decided to leave for personal and family reasons, and added that city leaders made efforts to change his mind.

“We all tried to see if there was a way to convince him to stay but it was a personal decision,” he said.

An NYPD source confirmed that the mayor had implored Pichardo to reconsider.

“De Blasio privately asked Pichardo yesterday to stay. No luck,” the insider said. “De Blasio begged him to stay.”

Even as he praised Pichardo as someone who’s done a “fantastic job” and “had a very bright future ahead,” de Blasio made clear he was content to move on.

“I obviously wish he would stay,” de Blasio told reporters. “But again, if there’s any place with a deep bench, it’s the NYPD. There’s a lot more leaders coming up.”

The three-star chief is expected to leave before Nov. 12. It was unclear who would replace him.