Thomas Tuchel has revealed he is ‘sad and upset’ with Todd Boehly after the decision was made to sack him at Chelsea.
The German head coach departed from the club in September after the Blues had suffered a 1-0 defeat in the opening game of the Champions League against Dinamo Zagreb.
After a summer of spending, it had been a stuttering start to the season for Chelsea and Tuchel.
In the transfer window, Boehly and the new ownership team splashed a club record amount in an attempt to bolster the side.
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Big money moves were made for the likes of Raheem Sterling, Marc Cucurella, Kalidou Koulibaly and Wesley Fofana, leaving the expectations high on the German manager.
Having arrived at Stamford Bridge a year and a half prior to this, Tuchel quickly established him as one of the best coaches in the league.
He replaced Frank Lampard and guided the west London side back to the top four, and of course lifted the club’s second Champions League when Chelsea defeated Manchester City 1-0 in Porto.
The following season, a battle for the Premier League title was expected between the Blues, Liverpool and City, but Tuchel’s side dropped off the pace as the year progressed.
While Chelsea were victorious in the Super Cup final and Club World Cup final, they were beaten twice by Jurgen Klopp’s side on penalties in both the Carabao Cup final and the FA Cup final.
The west London outfit also crashed out of Europe when they were knocked out by Real Madrid despite picking up a 3-2 victory in the second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Jumping forward to the current season, and things did not start well for Tuchel in the 2022/23 campaign.
Early embarrassing defeats against Leeds United and Southampton were worrying signs for Chelsea fans.
The nail in the coffin came against the Croatian side in the UCL and Tuchel was quickly replaced by Brighton head coach Potter.
Since this the Englishman has lost just once in his first 11 games as boss, steadying the ship following Tuchel’s departure.
In an interview with Indian newspaper The Hindu, the German was asked whether he was upset over the manner he left in.
He responded: “Yes, I am upset. And I am sad because I think my job at Chelsea was not finished. I had a fantastic relationship with the players. We had a fantastic relationship with all the staff.
“We had overcome an incredibly demanding time in change of ownership and being sanctioned (by the UK Government). And before that we had Covid-19. So it was pretty demanding, but it was also very, very bonding.
“So we did this together, and I was in for the long run. I was ready to go a long way because I felt happy, but the owners had a different idea, and you have to accept it.”
Topics: Thomas Tuchel, Chelsea, Todd Boehly
Sam Collins