Thomas Tuchel’s love live was allegedly the hot topic in the Chelsea dressing room prior to his sudden departure.
The German tactician was given his marching orders in a totally unexpected, sudden reversal that has shocked pundits and his peers as the former Blues boss was sacked just 100 games and two seasons into his reign. Industry observers have even labelled his sacking as being brutal and an action reminiscent of the style of former owner Roman Abramovich.
Now, in the aftermath of the stunning announcement, new revelations have emerged about Tuchel’s final months in charge at Stamford Bridge in connection with his off-pitch private life.
According to The Independent, even the manager’s divorce from his wife Sissi and new relationship with Natalie Max were the hotly-discussed topics among Chelsea stars in the dressing room to the extent that it is even claimed some players began to develop a negative perception of Tuchel around the time he split with Sissi after 13 years of marriage and later took up with Natalie.
Tuchel, 49, and Sissi, 46, announced their marriage was over in April and parted officially in May after filing for divorce. The PSG former boss, who has two daughters with Sissi, in July was spotted with Brazilian Natalie, 35, when the pair were spotted vacationing in Sardinia.
Sisi, the London-based mum-of-two, operates her own business and is believed to have grown close with Tuchel following restaurant dates.
Apparently it has also been alleged that the Champions League-winning manager’s private life had become a contributing factor among football-related issues to his dismissal as players began to view him in a different light.
On a parallel development, SunSport has also revealed throughout the summer the chasm between Tuchel and new owner Todd Boehly had been widening due to various issues, with sources at Chelsea he was growing increasingly fed up and believed that the new owners wanted to control every aspect of his job.
Behind the scenes on the club’s US tour in the summer, Tuchel was rumored to be unhappy and his discussions over transfers with Boehly were strained, with news of a definite split over the plan by American Boehly to try to sign Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United – a move Tuchel adamantly opposed.
Having won the battle on that occasion, the German ultimately lost the war later, despite him stating only last week that he had been fully involved, and was in agreement, over the club’s world record £270million spending spree in the close season.
Unfortunately, tensions had already been brewing behind the scenes for some time and this had crept over into the team’s results on the pitch, with the latest dismal performance against Real Sociedad in the Champions League initial group stage providing Boehly with the excuse he needed to axe his manager.
Tuchel, who replaced Frank Lampard in January 2021 and went on to win the Champions League, leaves off the back of a 1-0 loss at Dinamo Zagreb.