Thomas Tuchel has revealed exactly what happened when he was relieved of his duties as Chelsea manager back in September.
Tuchel is back in management, this time with Bayern Munich, and the German recently spoke about what happened when the curtain came down on his time at Chelsea.
The 49-year old was dismissed as Blues boss on September 7th after a 1-0 to Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League group stage, also leaving the Stamford Bridge outfit 5th in the Premier League, with Graham Potter being swiftly appointed as his replacement a couple of days later.
Speaking to Sportsmail (via Daily Mail) reporters ahead of his first game in charge of the Bavarians against his former employers Borussia Dortmund tomorrow evening, Tuchel said it was a surprise to hear of Chelsea’s decision.
“‘It was a shock. I felt it, strangely, when I drove to the training centre. The meeting [with the Chelsea hierarchy] felt unusual – and it turned out to be a very short meeting. It was 8am and it lasted five minutes. I was also not in the mood to talk longer.”
The German, who won the Champions League with Chelsea in 2021, admitted that he wanted to remain at Stamford Bridge and felt at home in London.
“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.
“We had huge relationships within the staff. We still do. It still hurts in a way – I’m not able to see these people on a daily basis. 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.”
Some Chelsea fans are still reeling from the German’s departure from their club, but now he finds himself back in management, hopefully they can move on from his time as their manager.
Bayern’s match against Dortmund tomorrow evening kicks off at 17:30 BST in what promises to be a pivotal game in the Bundesliga title race.