Chelsea appointed Graham Potter as their new manager on Thursday, a day after they sacked Thomas Tuchel.
Todd Boehly has revealed disagreements with the German coach led to them parting ways. This week’s edition of SportBild states the American showed Tuchel the exit door after having a conversation with him for 10 minutes, a day after the defeat to Dinamo Zagreb.
The German magazine also provides further insight into why the relationship fractured despite Chelsea investing big in the summer.
Wesley Fofana was the most expensive signing of Chelsea’s window as the Blues paid €80m to Leicester City to secure his services. He completed a move to Stamford Bridge on August 31st, while Tuchel wanted this deal to be wrapped up quickly.
Boehly was aware of his manager’s desire and despite that, he made the 21-year-old undergo medical tests in the United States, which meant he lost two days in travelling. This had surprised the centre-back.
SportBild stress that Fofana’s trip to the US was the billionaire’s ‘pure demonstration of power against Tuchel’. It’s explained that ‘apparently, Boehly didn’t like that someone contradicted him’.
The Chelsea chairman is said to have not liked about Tuchel praising Marina Granovskaia. The manager had appreciated the work done by the club’s former director and would have like her to continue in her role, even after Roman Abramovich left.
Boehly, who acted as the sporting director, wanted to bring Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo to Stamford Bridge. Tuchel didn’t favour this, and Chelsea ended up signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Although Boehly was considering handing a new deal to Tuchel earlier in the summer, their disagreement meant they decided to take separate paths last Wednesday.