Chelsea yesterday sacked manager Thomas Tuchel just seven games into the season following a chastening 1-0 Champions League defeat at Dinamo Zagreb.
The former Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain boss leaves Stamford Bridge after a tumultuous period at the club, which included a Champions League triumph and the end of Roman Abramovich’s reign.
Chelsea said they would “swiftly” appoint a replacement, with former Tottenham Hotspur and PSG boss Mauricio Pochettino and Brighton & Hove Albion manager Graham Potter among the early favorites.
Photo: AFP
“On behalf of everyone at Chelsea FC, the club would like to place on record its gratitude to Thomas and his staff for all their efforts during their time with the club,” the Premier League club said in a statement. “Thomas will rightly have a place in Chelsea’s history after winning the Champions League, the Super Cup and Club World Cup in his time here.”
The Stamford Bridge club, bought by Todd Boehly’s consortium in late May, defended the timing of the decision, which is understood to have been made before the loss in Croatia.
“As the new ownership group reaches 100 days since taking over the club, and as it continues its hard work to take the club forward, the new owners believe it is the right time to make this transition,” the statement said.
Chelsea are sixth in the Premier League table after three wins, one draw and two defeats in their opening six matches.
Tuchel, who was in charge for less than 20 months at Chelsea, said that “everything is missing” after their shock defeat on Tuesday.
“Too much to analyze,” he said. “I’m a part of it. We are clearly not there, where we need to be and where we can be. So it’s on me, it’s on us, we need to find solutions.”
Boehly’s consortium paid a world-record fee of ￡4.25 billion (US$4.86 billion) for a sports franchise to buy Chelsea from Russian billionaire Abramovich.
The German’s time at Stamford Bridge got off to a dream start as he picked up an expensively assembled, but underperforming, squad under Frank Lampard and turned them into European champions within months.
Tuchel said he was offered a two-year contract extension on the pitch by Abramovich after beating Manchester City 1-0 in Porto to win the club’s second Champions League title.
Things quickly unraveled for Chelsea on and off the pitch last season.
Abramovich was hit with UK sanctions after the government described him as part of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle.
Tuchel kept the Blues afloat in trying circumstances as Chelsea reached the League and FA Cup finals, losing both on penalties to Liverpool, won the Club World Cup and finished third in the Premier League.
The new owners backed Tuchel heavily in the transfer market, with more than ￡200 million spent on players including Raheem Sterling, Kalidou Koulibaly, Marc Cucurella, Wesley Fofana and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Boehly has followed Abramovich’s playbook in acting quickly to fire managers after a string of disappointing results.
Tuchel is the second Premier League manager to be fired this season after AFC Bournemouth sacked Scott Parker last week.
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