Thomas Tuchel Announces Departure from Bayern Munich

50-year-old Thomas Tuchel will be leaving his managerial role at Bayern Munich after the current season's completion, in a "sporting realignment" by the club. Tuchel started his stint at Munich, replacing Julian Nagelsmann, in March 2023 and was contracted until June 2025.

Despite leading Bayern to last season's Bundesliga victory, the club now trails eight points behind Bayer Leverkusen after consecutive league losses. One of these included a 3-0 defeat to Leverkusen, and a 1-0 loss to Lazio in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.

"We will leave after this season. Until then, my coaching team and I will continue to do everything we can to ensure maximum success," commented Tuchel, who has won 28 of his 44 matches while managing Bayern Munich.

Bayern's CEO, Jan-Christian Dreesen confirmed the mutual agreement to end this collaboration. "Our goal is to carry out a sporting realignment with a new coach for the 2024-25 season," he said. Mentioning Bayern's loss at Lazio, Dreesen expressed confidence in the team advancing to the Champions League quarter-finals with full fan support.

Tuchel, who previously managed Paris St-Germain and Borussia Dortmund, led his Bayern side to pip Borussia Dortmund to seal a record 11th straight German title on the last day of the Bundesliga campaign. He had also won the Champions League with Chelsea in 2021 but suffered defeat in the quarter-finals at the hands of Manchester City in Europe last season.

In an initial €100m (£86m) deal, England captain Harry Kane joined Bayern from Tottenham Hotspur, aiming for domestic and European success. However, a troubling period has seen the club slip further behind leaders Leverkusen in the Bundesliga and face a first-leg deficit against Lazio in their bid to remain in the Champions League. Bayern recently incurred a 3-2 defeat at Bochum, their third consecutive loss in all competitions.