Chelsea owner Todd Boehly has revealed that his controversial decision to sack Thomas Tuchel came after realising that their respective 'visions' for the club didn't align.
German coach Tuchel got the chop last Wednesday following the Blues' shock 1-0 defeat to Dinamo Zagreb in their Champions League opener, before Boehly quickly appointed Brighton boss Graham Potter as his successor. Having released an initial statement explaining the decision to sack Tuchel, Boehly has now shed more light on the process of firing him in unceremonious fashion while speaking at the SALT Conference in the United States.
"Our goal is to bring a team together that with the academy, first team, with the clubs we want to acquire and develop, all of that needs to be a well-oiled machine and the reality of our decision was that we just weren’t sure that Thomas felt the same way we thought," the American tycoon explained.
"No one is right or wrong, we just didn't have a shared vision for the future and it wasn't about Zagreb, it's really about the shared vision for what we wanted for Chelsea FC to look like. It wasn't a decision that was made about a single win or loss, it was made about what we thought was the right vision for the club."
Boehly, who made the call to dismiss the incumbent manager only 100 days into his Stamford Bridge reign, added: "You have to make sure you are aligned with the people in the business, and Tuchel is obviously extremely talented and obviously someone who had great success with Chelsea.
"Our vision for the club was finding a manager who really wanted to collar with us and I think there's a lot of walls to break down at Chelsea. Before the first team and the academy, they didn’t have the data or information about where those top players were coming from."
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After letting the dust settle on his exit from Stamford Bridge, Tuchel issued an emotional statement reacting to his hotly-debated departure. "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," the 49-year-old wrote on social media.
"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."
