RB Leipzig chief executive Oliver Mintzlaff has explained how he lost "trust" in Christopher Vivell before the club terminated his contract.
Chelsea are set to appoint Vivell as the club's new technical director following his departure from the Red Bull Arena, as football.london reported last week. The Blues have been searching to add to the club's board following the departures of Marina Granovskaia and Petr Cech over the summer.
New co-owner Todd Boehly took charge of transfers over the summer window, but it is not a role he wants to do long-term. It looks like the American has now got his man after Leipzig announced last week Vivell would be leaving due to 'contrasting views'.
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The statement read: "Christopher Vivell was dismissed from his position as technical director yesterday [Thursday] with immediate effect, due to differences of opinion. The 35-year-old's duties will be carried out by the current set-up, until Max Erberl takes over as the new Managing Director of Sport."
Now, Mintzlaff has hit out at Vivell, saying he lost "trust" in his former colleague. When asked if the reason of departure was anything to do with Chelsea's interest, the Leipzig chief replied: "We already know that Chelsea likes what we do but I cannot comment. I don't know of any talks.
"Chris has certainly done a great job over the last two years, but in the end, things didn't fit anymore. If the trust is no longer there in football, co-operation no longer makes sense.
"That is why we released him. We made this decision with full conviction."
Chelsea are looking to completely change the recruitment team in what is set to be a huge restructure spearheaded by Boehly. Vivell's appointment, should it happen, is unlikely to be the final one.
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