I think we can be pretty sure there's no going back now. FC Porto have confirmed that Andre Villas Boas' release clause has been paid, and they've appointed a new manager of their own in Villas Boas' former assistant Vítor Pereira, who aparently refused an offer to come to Stamford Bridge with his old boss. Meanwhile, Chelsea have issued a statement saying that Villas Boas is in line for the managerial job and that they are negotiating personal terms.

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.

It's worth pointing out that with a £13.2M price tag attached to his head, Villas Boas is now the most expensive manager ever. He's also the youngest person to have ever been Chelsea boss I am an idiot, as well as the youngest ever to have won a European trophy. Hopefully he can cap that off with 'youngest to win the Champions League' someday soon.

Also, there's a rumour going round that Villas Boas would pay the release clause himself so as to avoid a major overt financial hit for Chelsea under Financial Fair Play rulings, but I'd be incredibly surprised if that works - UEFA's legalese is specifically designed to eliminate loopholes, and even if it is a loophole it's blatant enough that the money will be applied anyway.

Anyway, sounds like the announcement will be made tomorrow. I'm pretty excited about this - Villas Boas has always been my first choice to manage the club, so seeing him come on when all hope had seemingly been lost is an amazing feeling.