Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly breaks silence on decision to sack Thomas Tuchel

Todd Boehly has revealed why Chelsea opted to sack Thomas Tuchel as head coach last week to replace him with Graham Potter.

It was a decision that divided opinion but a ruthless one from the new Chelsea owners to end the 49-year-old’s tenure after 19 months.

Having bought the club back in May, Boehly and Co set out their vision and believed it was the right time to part company with Tuchel following their 1-0 defeat to Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League. 

Tuchel expressed his devastation at the sacking last Wednesday, writing on social media: “This is one of the most difficult statements I have ever had to write - and it is one which I hoped I would not need to do for many years.

"I am devastated that my time at Chelsea has come to an end.

“This is a club where I felt at home, both professionally and personally. Thank you so much to all the staff, the players and the supporters for making me feel very welcome from the start.

“The pride and joy I felt at helping the team to win the Champions League and the Club World Cup will stay with me forever. I am honoured to have been a part of this club’s history and the memories of the last 19 months will always have a special place in my heart.”

There was no comment from Boehly or any of the ownership, but at SALT Conference, a global thought leadership and networking forum at the intersection of finance, technology and public policy, the Blues’ Chairman outlined his reasons for sacking Tuchel and appointing Graham Potter.

He admitted: “When you take over any business, you have to make sure you’re aligned with the people who are operating the business.

"Tuchel is obviously extremely talented and someone who had great success at Chelsea.

"Our vision for the club was finding a manager who really wanted to collaborate with us, a coach who really wanted to collaborate. 

“There are a lot of walls to break down at Chelsea. Before, the first team and academy didn’t really share data, didn’t share information about where the top players were coming from.

"Our goal is to bring a team together, all of that needs to be a well-oiled machine. 

“The reality of our decision was that we weren’t sure that Thomas saw it the same way we saw it. No one is right or wrong, we just didn’t have a shared vision for the future. 

“It wasn’t about Zagreb, it was about the shared vision for what we wanted Chelsea to look like.

"It wasn’t a decision that was made because of a single win or loss. It was a decision that we thought was the right vision for the club.”