Following his dismissal by Chelsea, Thomas Tuchel has confirmed he has turned down opportunities to return to management.
Tuchel was fired by Chelsea last month following a Champions League first-leg loss to Dinamo Zagreb. The decision to fire the German coach, who had won the Champions League with the club just over a year before, came as a surprise.
Following the sacking of Steven Gerrard last week, the manager was not interested in taking over at Aston Villa. Earlier this month, German media outlet reported that Bayer Leverkusen made an approach to hire the out-of-work Tuchel before settling on Xabi Alonso.
Separate reports claim Tuchel turned down approaches from two unnamed Premier League clubs prior to the job opening at Villa Park, which was eventually filled by Unai Emery. Due to his impressive coaching resume, the German is in high demand.
Tuchel said, “I haven’t made a decision yet.” “It is now time for me to relax. Some clubs have contacted my manager, but we agreed that he would not contact me for the next 18 days.”
Tuchel also led the Blues to the FA Cup and EFL Cup finals last season, only to be defeated by Liverpool in penalty shootouts in both competitions. During his time at Stamford Bridge, he finished in the top four on multiple occasions.
Tuchel said of his departure from the West London club in September, “I loved every day at Chelsea.” It ended far too soon for me, but it was out of my hands. This is also what you agree to.”
“There were many games that I was really happy with – the ones against Real Madrid (2-0), Atletico Madrid (2-0), Porto (2-0 and 1-0), and the final (1-0 against Manchester City,” he said of his most memorable games at Chelsea.
Tuchel guided Paris Saint-Germain to their only-ever Champions League final a season before winning the competition with Chelsea, when he took over as manager midway through the 2020-21 season, replacing Frank Lampard.