Chelsea's decision to sack Tuchel slammed back home
FT Desk
- 10 Sept 2022 07:00 BST
- 3 min read
Thomas Tuchel was dismissed as Chelsea manager by Todd Boehly after €300 million spent in the transfer market and with the club just five points off the top in the Premier League.
That wasn't enough to save his bacon, though, with reports emerging from Stamford Bridge that Tuchel and Boehly failed to see eye-to-eye on a number of transfers in the summer window.
Boehly wanted Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United, Tuchel didn't. When Tuchel got his striker of choice - Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - he was sacked days later, with Boehly since compelled to seek the former Barcelona man out to tell him he was a club signing, not a Tuchel one.
Aubameyang 🤝 Tuchel.
😥 The reunion lasted 59 minutes. pic.twitter.com/sHILtCZEOR— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) September 7, 2022
Tuchel has since been replaced by Brighton tactician Graham Potter, who will now have to wait two weeks to oversee his first game in charge with games postponed due to the passing of Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday.
The decision to sack Tuchel, who won the Champions League with Chelsea last year and the FIFA Club World Cup as recently as February, has been slammed by his former sporting director at Mainz, Christian Heidel.
'Out of the blue'
"With Thomas it came out of the blue," he told German tabloid Bild. "The sacking is grist to the mill of those who are against investors in football. It was purely an investor's decision.
"Someone who has no idea about football probably thought that sixth place wasn't good enough for him and said: 'Then let’s try another coach.'
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"After only six games, I can't think of any other reason. But Chelsea will bitterly regret this decision - they won't get such a good coach again so quickly."
Tuchel won exactly 60 per cent of his 100 games in charge of Chelsea, with his side scoring 81 goals set against just 24 conceded, with 31 clean sheets.
