Jamie Carragher and Gary Lineker have compared Chelsea's new owners to ex-chief Roman Abramovich after Thomas Tuchel was sacked on Wednesday.
The Blues fired Tuchel following their humbling 1-0 defeat to Croatian champions Dinamo Zagreb the previous evening. It ends a successful 20-month spell for the German, winning the Champions League, European Super Cup and Club World Cup.
News of Tuchel's departure has stunned the Premier League. Although he was under pressure after spending more than £200million on players this summer, he was expected to be given a bit longer in the job. Yet the Blues are now on the hunt for a new boss.
Tuchel's brutal sacking is reminiscent to the managers that were axed under Abramovich, who handed the reigns over to Todd Boehly's consortium in May. The likes of Carlo Ancelotti, Antonio Conte and Jose Mourinho were all axed by the Russian oligarch.
Chelsea achieved phenomenal success under Abramovich following huge investment in the squad, winning every single trophy available to the club - including five Premier League titles, two Champions Leagues and two Europa Leagues.
Tuchel's sacking suggests Boehly wants to hire his own manager - with the likes of Graham Potter, Maurico Pochettino and Brendan Rodgers linked with the job - or will adhere to Abramovich's aggressive policy that brought so much success to Stamford Bridge.
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"Tuchel has done a great job at Chelsea and another club will now get a top manager," tweeted Carragher. "Roman is still pulling the strings!"
Lineker's reaction was similar to Carragher's. "Chelsea have fired Thomas Tuchel," tweeted the Match of the Day host. "Didn’t take long for the new owner to follow his predecessor's policy of getting rid at the first real dip in form."
Gary Neville, meanwhile, had a different viewpoint - comparing Boehly to former Manchester United chief Ed Woodward. "Todd Woodward," tweeted the ex-defender.
And Danny Murphy believes Boehly has acted too soon. "I'm really surprised actually," he told talkSPORT. "I like him [Tuchel] - he's intelligent, he's one of the top managers out there. I think it's too early, that's my gut feeling... I'm not sure it's the right thing."
A statement from Chelsea read: "Chelsea Football Club has today parted company with Head Coach Thomas Tuchel. On behalf of everyone at Chelsea FC, the club would like to place on record its gratitude to Thomas and his staff for all their efforts during their time with the club.
"Thomas will rightly have a place in Chelsea’s history after winning the Champions League, the Super Cup and Club World Cup in his time here. As the new ownership group reaches 100 days since taking over the club, and as it continues its hard work to take the club forward, the new owners believe it is the right time to make this transition... There will be no further comment until a new head coach appointment is made."
