Tuchel hints at PSG exit: I was naive to think four titles was enough

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 19 May 2021 15:43 BST
• 2 min read

Paris Saint-Germain boss Thomas Tuchel seems to have resigned himself to the prospect of being released by the club at the end of the current season.

The former Borussia Dortmund head coach has led PSG to successive Ligue 1 titles and spearheaded them to a domestic treble in 2019-20. Additionally, the Parisians reached their first Champions League final but suffered a 1-0 loss to Bayern Munich.

Tuchel had hoped that such a performance would end questions over his ability and potentially lead him to a new contract with the club, but his efforts have been fruitless.

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“There haven’t been any discussions so far and after all I’ve achieved here all options are open for me. But at some point, you have to stop dreaming. We’ll see,” he told Sky Germany.

“I’m aware of the criticism towards me. We live in a bubble, but I see that.

“I had the somewhat naive idea that after four titles and a Champions League final, people would stop questioning me.

“The critics were silenced for five days, but it was only for five days.”

Thomas Tuchel’s PSG problems

Tuchel, though, is not being judged solely on the team’s on-field performance. His relationship with sporting director Leonardo is frosty, with the pair having verbally sparred in public.

In particular, the German was unimpressed by the transfer campaign conducted by his Brazilian colleague.

Leonardo pursued a central midfielder – a position that Tuchel did not think was a priority – and ultimately signed Danilo Pereira from Porto close to the transfer deadline.

Danilo, though, has subsequently been deployed primarily as a central defender, with natural centre-back Marquinhos continuing in the midfield. It has been suggested that Tuchel is pursuing this course of action as a form of protest against his boss.

Meanwhile, PSG’s scruffy transfer campaign was highlighted by Mazinho, the father of Rafinha, who revealed that a deal was only done for the Barcelona player after the Parisians failed to get Thiago Alcantara.

The Ligue 1 outfit travel to RB Leipzig for a critical Champions League match on Wednesday but do so without a raft of stars, including Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Marco Verratti.