Chelsea’s ‘off-field reasons’ for axeing Tuchel
German’s ex-wife makes stunning claim in court
CHELSEA sacked Thomas Tuchel last year for ‘ off- field reasons’ and because the players ‘ lost respect for him’, according to an email from his ex-wife in a divorce hearing.
The German left Chelsea in September last year after 18 months in charge, sacked following a breakdown in his relationship with Chelsea’s new owners, who replaced him with Graham Potter.
However, an email from his exwife claims additional factors were behind his dismissal, including ones related to his personal life.
The revelation came in a hearing at Munich’s district court following the split between Tuchel, 49, and Sissi, 51, last year after 13 years of marriage.
German newspaper Bild have reported that journalist Sissi received a call from England in which she was allegedly told the reasons why Tuchel was sacked.
She claims to have been told that Chelsea’s stars no longer respected Tuchel, and undisclosed ‘off-field reasons’ were cited as reasons behind his exit. According to Bild, details of them were allegedly included in an email and Tuchel wanted to use a temporary injunction to prevent his ex-wife from revealing them.
The paper also said they could not publish the wording of some of the claims in the email for legal reasons. The judge in the hearing explained it was being held behind closed doors ‘because the highly personal area of life is touched on and the truthfulness of the statements is also disputed’.
Sissi attended the hearing but Tuchel did not. They, along with Chelsea, chose not to comment. Tuchel married Sissi in 2009 and they had two daughters together.
The Mail on Sunday revealed last April that they had split and Sissi had begun divorce proceedings. Tuchel started a relationship with Natalie Max, 35, after his divorce was finalised.
It was reported following his Chelsea sacking that Tuchel’s personal life had become a topic of conversation within the dressing room and had affected how he was perceived by his players.
Tuchel was appointed as Frank Lampard’s successor in January 2021 and led Chelsea to notable success on the pitch. They won the Champions League in 2021, the UEFA Super Cup and World Club Cup the following season.
He also emerged as an impressive spokesperson for Chelsea after former owner Roman Abramovich was sanctioned, which plunged the club’s future into uncertainty.
That was ended when the Todd Boehly/Clearlake Capital consortium completed their takeover last May. However, after a review of the club during their first 100 days in charge, they decided a change of manager was required.
Long-running tensions behind the scenes — including differences of opinion over transfers — left Tuchel’s relationship with his new bosses broken beyond repair.
Tuchel has remained out of work since then but expressed an interest in the England job and a return to working in the Premier League. He has been linked with the Tottenham job.