The reason behind Thomas Tuchel's departure from Chelsea would 'make most people's eyes water', according to a former Premier League chairman, as his mysterious exit from Stamford Bridge shrouds his first game as England head coach. The 51-year-old began work in January after he was named as Gareth Southgate's successor ahead of their World Cup 2026 qualifying campaign, which begins against Albania and Latvia at Wembley. But some fans may find it difficult to let go of the past after news of Tuchel's sacking by Chelsea sent shockwaves around the world in 2022.
The Blues' billionaire owner Todd Boehly made the brutal decision to sack the German just 100 days after completing his £2.5billion takeover. The decision was taken by the board to relieve the German tactician of his duties following a 1-0 defeat to Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League, leaving Chelsea fans furious with the decision to axe their hero. It came only 15 months after he had guided Chelsea to their second Champions League title, beating Manchester City 1-0 in June 2021. Boehly came under heavy criticism for sacking Tuchel, especially as his replacement Graham Potter lasted just seven months in the job.
But in 2023, former Crystal Palace supremo Simon Jordan appeared to suggest he was justified in giving the manager the boot due to reasons fans weren't made aware of.
"There's a lot more behind the scenes of Tuchel that would make most people's eyes water as to the reasons why Todd Boehly made that decision and it wasn't just a case of losing to Dinamo Zagreb," Jordan said on the 'White and Jordan Show' on talkSPORT.
"It was case of a whole raft of other things - that's Boehly's gift to tell people what that is. But it opened my eyes and I would've done exactly the same thing as Todd Boehly did which is 'you can go mate'."
The American businessman explained that his call to replace Tuchel 'wasn't about soccer', claiming the Blues' defeat in Croatia had little to do with the decision. However, this was made public before Jordan's comments - indicating there were potentially more details between Tuchel and Boehly that went unspoken.
“The reality of our decision was that we just weren’t sure that Thomas saw the same way we saw," Boehly said in September 2022. "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.”
A document that surfaced during Tuchel's divorce proceedings from his ex-wife Sissi, 50, in a Munich court claimed he was sacked due to 'off-field reasons' and suggested 'the players lost respect for him'. However, the exact nature behind the 'off-field reasons' were not disclosed by the court due to the sensitivity of the matter.
After leaving Chelsea, Tuchel joined Bayern Munich in January 2023 where he replaced Julian Nagelsmann. He went on to claim the Bundesliga title in 2022-23, but left the following season after losing their grasp on the trophy to Bayer Leverkusen.
Now in charge of England with an 18-month contract, Tuchel is now tasked with leading England to World Cup glory for the first time since 1966. If he manages such a feat, his troubles at Chelsea may well fade into insignificance.