Ligue 1 English

“It is sadly the law of football” – Mbappe pays tribute to outgoing Thomas Tuchel

Outgoing PSG boss Thomas Tuchel led the French side to domestic success and a Champions League final in August, but has now been made to pay the price for an underwhelming start this term.

Striker Kylian Mbappe has paid tribute to his ex-boss, adding that “nobody will forget” the manager’s time at the helm at Parc des Princes after news broke on Christmas Eve that the German had been dismissed from his position at the club following his side’s Ligue 1 triumph over Strasbourg on Wednesday.

PSG have yet to officially confirm the 47-year-old’s exit but this brings to an end a two-and-a-half-year tenure that saw the former Borussia Dortmund boss complete a clean sweep of domestic honours and edging closer to Champions League glory than any of his predecessors.

Mbappe was quick to honour his manager, however, stressing his gratitude for the ex-Mainz man’s contributions. The striker had further established himself as one of the sport’s most pre-eminent talents and continued to flourish under Tuchel’s guidance.

“It is sadly the law of football,” the 22-year-old posted on his Instagram feed.

“Nobody will forget your time here. You wrote a wonderful part of the club’s history and I say to you: thank you, coach.”

Immediately upon his arrival to succeed Unai Emery in May 2018, Tuchel’s first major act was to sanction a permanent deal for Mbappe following the latter’s highly successful loan spell at the club from Monaco and his riveting World Cup-winning heroics in Russia with the French national team.

The German’s exploits at Mainz between 2009 and 2014 – guiding them to a best finish of fifth in 2010-11 – earned him a move to Dortmund to succeed the outgoing Jurgen Klopp, where he continued to flourish as one of the most rated young coaches across Europe, claiming his first piece of silverware in the club’s 2016–17 DFB-Pokal triumph over Eintracht Frankfurt.

It has been at PSG where Tuchel has enjoyed consistent success, however, notching up half-a-dozen trophies in total and guiding them to the Champions League final last term, where he was ultimately edged out by Hansi Flick’s Bayern Munich.

Unfortunately, the German coach has been made to pay a hefty price after a relatively rocky start to their latest title defence, coupled with a shaky European group campaign.