Thomas Tuchel reacts to Ralf Rangnick's Bayern Munich snub and insists he is still leaving
The German coach still intends to step down at the end of the season (Picture: Getty)
Thomas Tuchel insists Bayern Munich is still an attractive club to manage despite Ralf Rangnick becoming the latest coach to snub a move, while he has no intention of backtracking on his own decision to step down at the end of the season.
The Bundesliga giants have been looking for a new manager since Tuchel announced he would be leaving back in February, though their protracted search for a successor has hit a number of hurdles.
Xabi Alonso quickly emerged as their first-choice replacement but they were forced into a rethink when he announced he would be staying with German champions Bayer Leverkusen for at least another season.
Bayern then held talks with former boss Julian Nagelsmann over a return to the Allianz Arena, only for the 36-year-old to announce that he had extended his contract with the German national team mere days later.
The Bavarians appeared to be closing in on a deal for former Manchester United interim boss Rangnick earlier this week, but he too has turned down a move and will instead remain in charge of Austria beyond this summer’s Euros.
As a result, Bayern have been forced to go back to the drawing board yet again but Tuchel has played down the impact of the club’s so-far-unsuccessful managerial hunt and is adamant the club does still have huge pull – though not enough to prompt him to stay.
Asked if the protracted search for a new manager, and the latest snub from Rangnick, impacts the players, Tuchel replied: ‘Well I don’t think the players need to know [who will be the next manager] in the next five or seven days.
Rangnick is the third manager to snub a move to Bayern (Picture: PA)
‘So until then the players are going to be focused on the game tomorrow [against Stuttgart] and the reverse fixture [against Real Madrid in the Champions League] on Wednesday. This is the highest priority for me anyway.’
Asked if Bayern are no longer an attractive destination for managers following Rangnick’s decision, he said: ‘No, I don’t think so. It was attractive enough for me.
‘Otherwise I’d prefer to remain silent on this question because I’m still the coach at the moment. We have big tasks ahead of us, tomorrow is difficult and on Wednesday we want to reach our big goal and reach the final of the Champions League. So that’s why I’m not worried about the future of Bayern Munich.’
Tuchel was then asked if his decision to leave at the end of the season is legally binding, or whether he might be persuaded to stay, and he replied: ‘Well this is an agreement.
‘Obviously you can change every contract with mutual consent, because we had a contract as well and then we agreed on ending it early.
‘So everything is possible but the answer is the same: the agreement [to leave] exists and the agreement stands.’
Bayern could now try and lure Brighton’s Roberto De Zerbi to Bavaria, with the Italian the new bookies’ favourite to land the job, while Benfica boss Roger Schmidt has also been linked.
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