Thomas Tuchel was unexpectedly given the sack by Chelsea last September for not having been in alignment with the Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital ownership’s vision and has been waiting for his next opportunity ever since.
“When you take over any business you just have to make sure you’re aligned with the people who are operating the business,” said Boehly last September at the SALT Conference.
“I think Tuchel is obviously extremely talented and someone who had great success with Chelsea. Our vision for the club was finding a manager who really wanted collaborate with us, a coach who really wanted to collaborate.
“And the reality of our decision was that we just weren’t sure that Thomas saw the same way we saw. No one’s right or wrong, it’s just we didn’t share a vision for the future. It wasn’t about soccer, it was really about the shared vision for what we wanted Chelsea Football Club to look like. It wasn’t a decision that was made as a result of a single win or loss. It was a decision that was made really about what we thought was the right vision for the club.”
Despite having been given heavy transfer backing last summer, a 1-0 defeat to Dinamo Zagreb served as the excuse for the final straw to the German tactician’s tenure which saw the club win the Champions League, Super Cup and Club World Cup.
It was clearly a decision which didn’t go down well with fans at Stamford Bridge but it was the new owner who called the shots and Tuchel expressed his sadness shortly after his departure.
He wrote: “This is one of the most difficult statements I have ever had to write – and it is one which I hoped I would not need to do for many years. I am devastated that my time at Chelsea has come to an end.
“This is a club where I felt at home, both professionally and personally. Thank you so much to all the staff, the players and the supporters for making me feel very welcome from the start.
“The pride and joy I felt at helping the team to win the Champions League and the Club World Cup will stay with me forever. I am honoured to have been a part of this club’s history and the memories of the last 19 months will always have a special place in my heart.”
Brighton’s shining star Graham Potter was quickly moved in to replace the 49-year-old but the former has been unable to replicate the success this season that he had brought to his former club. To date Chelsea have won just two of their last 14 matches and are now languishing dismally in 10th place and 11 points off the pace for a finish in the top four to clinch Champions League football next term.
To say that Potter is under increasing pressure over his future at Stamford Bridge is putting it mildly, despite having been given another boost to his flagging morale from the owners following their 1-0 defeat to bottom-of-the-table Southampton on Saturday.
Chelsea were frenziedly booed off and many have started to turn against the 47-year-old gaffer, clamoring for a change of manager after just five months. Unsurprisingly, there are many who are holding on to the hope that the club will bring back the German, although this is a most unlikely outcome.
As reported by Nizaar Kinsella, “a return is thought to be impossible with the continued backing of Potter and after the new owners grew frustrated with the German’s approach to their proposed working culture”.
However, one club that could be favorable for his return to is PSG, the Parisian club he was at before being sacked and joining Chelsea in 2021, as Nizaar Kinsella reports that the French side are ready to re-appoint him and “would be willing to admit their mistake in sacking him in the first place”.
The PSG hierarchy are allegedly beginning to be disenamored with Christophe Galtier and now the Ligue 1 outfit are prepared to ‘sound out’ Tuchel over a return to the Parc des Princes.
Although it remains unclear whether Tuchel would be open to a return to France, PSG are apparently ready to put the past behind them to reunite with the German.