TThomas Tuchel was silent. Even after Christmas Eve, which was probably not very reflective, neither the German coach nor the French champions Paris Saint-Germain officially confirmed the dubious separation around Christmas Eve, which everyone had long known. The only one who dared was PSG world champion Kylian Mbappé – with warm words to Tuchel, who is already leaving a club in strife and immediately speculating about its future wildly.
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“Unfortunately, that’s the law of football. But nobody will forget your tenure here, ”wrote Mbappé on Instagram. In his two and a half years at PSG, Tuchel wrote “a beautiful chapter in the club’s history”, added the 22-year-old star player, “and I would like to thank you, Coach”. The leadership of the Parisian gloss club obviously saw it differently.
The exact process shortly before Christmas remained unclear. PSG won 4-0 against Racing Strasbourg on December 23, and the following day German and French media reported the Tuchel-Aus. The “Bild am Sonntag” wrote that negotiations on the termination of the contract, which was dated until summer 2021, would still drag on. It will be worth millions. Tuchel’s relationship with PSG sports director Leonardo has been difficult or even non-existent for months.
“Expected like Santa Claus”, wrote the French sports newspaper “L’Equipe” on the first holiday. In Paris, the Argentine Mauricio Pochettino has long been traded as the successor to the former coach of FSV Mainz 05 and Borussia Dortmund. He, most recently under contract with Tottenham Hotspur, should immediately bring his compatriot, the six-time world footballer Lionel Messi, with him. He only stayed at FC Barcelona under protest in the summer – and Paris fans have always dreamed of the reunification of Messi and Neymar, who did not comment on the coaching question at the weekend.
How things will continue with Tuchel is open. The 47-year-old earned a very good reputation as a coaching expert, not just because he made it to the Champions League final last summer (0-1 against FC Bayern). However, in Mainz and Dortmund at the end of their respective terms in office, things had crunched in the interpersonal area.
Apparently, Tuchel is attracted to the Premier League, and only the top clubs would come into question. Most recently, he was also discussed as a possible successor to national coach Joachim Löw, who was then allowed to stay with the German Football Association. As expected, Tuchel’s Twitter account, which the trainer only uses when he really wants to get rid of something, was inactive for the holidays. A post on “Sport1”, in which he spoke about the lack of recognition for the team’s performance, was unceremoniously deleted on Wednesday.
The fact that PSG and Tuchel would part ways was less of a surprise than the timing. The last 0: 1 against leaders Olympique Lyon, in which Neymar was injured, and the 0: 0 at OSC Lille, PSG are currently one point behind the leading duo. He saw a very tired team, said Tuchel after the home defeat against Lyon two weeks ago and honestly admitted that he had not recognized this beforehand.
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