Barcelona or Man Utd: What next for Tuchel after REJECTING Bayern U-turn?

Tom Weber

• Updated: 17 May 2024 11:42 BST
• 5 min read

Thomas Tuchel is leaving Bayern Munich (again).

In recent days, the German tactician's future was blown wide open as it was revealed that Bayern Munich, after being rejected by a host of candidates, had done a 180 on their original decision to part with the coach.

Given that Bayern are seemingly incapable of finding a new manager for the upcoming season, the decision to open talks with Tuchel over extending his stay was a sensible albeit humiliating one.

It was widely reported that talks had been progressing and that the 50-year-old was expected to stay on board. Tuchel, however, has now announced that an agreement between the two parties couldn't be reached. After leaving and then staying, the Bayern boss is now leaving again.

So, what next for the former Chelsea manager?

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Tuchel to Barcelona?

Links between Thomas Tuchel and Barcelona are bound to explode into life in light of the news that Blaugrana president Joan Laporta has allegedly decided to sack Xavi over his comments insisting that the club will struggle to compete with Real Madrid for the foreseeable future.

Xavi, like Tuchel, had initially been expected to leave the club at the end of the season before making a U-turn after being convinced to stay by Laporta and sporting director Deco. Now, he is once again looking set to depart.

Could Tuchel be on his way to Catalunya? It seems unlikely. For one, Barcelona will struggle to afford his salary. Then, there is the question of control. It has been claimed that Tuchel would only have been open to remaining at Bayern if given more control. This was a difficult thing to accept for the Bavarians, a club where so many directors are involved in the transfer side of things.

This would be a similar issue at Barcelona. Laporta is a very hands-on president and Deco is trying to shape the squad in his image. The signing of Vitor Roque is an example of exactly this. Xavi had, allegedly, not wanted the Brazilian, hence why he is not playing now, but Deco was pushing for his signing.

Tuchel at Barcelona seems like a recipe for disaster.

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Tuchel to Man Utd?

Then, of course, there is the option of Man Utd. Erik ten Hag looks increasingly likely to be axed at the end of the season and Tuchel is keen on returning to England. He recently admitted that he loved it at Chelsea and in the Premier League.

Prior to Sir Jim Ratcliffe acquiring partial control of the club, a move for Tuchel would have made sense. However, with Jason Wilcox, Omar Berrarda and soon Dan Ashworth all at the club, and Ratcliffe and his right-hand man Sir Dave Brailsford also involved, one would again have to ask questions about how much control Tuchel would actually have.

Additionally, Tuchel is known to fall out with some of his players - such as Joshua Kimmich at Bayern - and this type of coach seems like the last thing Man Utd's fickle and damaged squad needs. The issues surrounding Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford and Antony under Erik ten Hag should be a lesson to the club hierarchy.

Given his strong desire to return to England, it seems almost nailed on that Tuchel will succeed Ten Hag should he indeed be sacked. However, whether he would actually be a good fit is an entirely different question. There is a major risk of the German being a Ten Hag 2.0.