"It still hurts" - Thomas Tuchel opens up on ruthless Chelsea sacking ahead of Bayern Munich debut

Former Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has revealed that his reign at Stamford Bridge was terminated in a ruthless three-minute meeting having been dismissed 100 days into Todd Boehly's ownership of the west London outfit.

Despite overseeing the Blues' second-ever Champions League victory 15 months prior, the German was relieved of his duties in September following a 1-0 Champions League defeat at Dinamo Zagreb. Additionally, Chelsea had accumulated ten points in the first six Premier League matches of the campaign with embarrassing defeats coming at Leeds United and Southampton in August.

Now, the ex-Chelsea manager finds himself back in his homeland having been appointed as Julian Nagelsmann's replacement at Bayern Munich over the international break. Interestingly, the German's first match in charge comes against his former club Borussia Dortmund in what is set to be a crucial contest in the Bundesliga title race.

When addressing the media ahead of hosting his former side in Der Klassiker on Saturday, Tuchel opened up on his departure from Stamford Bridge, telling Sportsmail: "It was a shock.

"I felt it, strangely, when I drove to the training centre. The meeting we had felt unusual – and it turned out to be a very short meeting. It was 8am, or something, and it lasted three to five minutes. I was also not in the mood to talk longer.

"The decision had been made and, honestly, it was a shock for all of us. We had a feeling that we were in the right spot at the right time. We felt that we could achieve big things and we wanted to stay longer – it was as simple as that.

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"We had big relationships, huge relationships within the staff. We still do," the German added. "How long did it take me to get over? It still hurts in a way – I’m not able to see these people on a daily basis. I love this job: I have a passion for it, I can tell you.

"We built an extraordinary bond in the circumstances. We started there during Covid, during Brexit – then came the change of ownership. We were a strong, strong group (at Cobham). It wasn’t in my hands to take this decision. I was no longer part of this group, a group that felt like a family."