Some Chelsea players had reportedly become distracted by the messy private life of their former manager Thomas Tuchel as his influence on the squad started to wane.
According to the Independent, Tuchel was struggling to get through to his players in quite the same way, and the report mentions that there had been a lot of talk within the squad about the German tactician’s divorce and new relationship with a younger woman.
Tuchel’s now ex-wife and kids joined him on the pitch after Chelsea’s Champions League final victory over Manchester City in 2021, but that relationship ended, and it seems these off-the-pitch issues started to have an effect on the team.
Tuchel’s dismissal came as a surprise yesterday, but Fabrizio Romano has provided insight into what went wrong between the former Paris Saint-Germain boss and new owner Todd Boehly, who has identified Graham Potter as the ideal replacement.
“Todd Boehly believes that Potter is a manager with a vision for the present and the future, he can have an immediate impact on the squad but also an ability to build the Chelsea identity of the coming years,” Romano said.
“I believe that Tuchel is an excellent manager but that the situation with Todd Boehly was really tense in the last days, which is why we could no longer go on together.
“He probably needed time to make an impact on a team that has changed a lot; but I believe that if an owner no longer believes in a manager, it is always better to part immediately rather than wait and lose a season.”
Good