Bayern Munich manager Thomas Tuchel will leave at the end of the season, the club announced on Wednesday.
Tuchel’s future had been subject to ongoing speculation with the club eight points adrift of Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen.
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Bayern have lost their last three games — twice in the Bundesliga at the hands of Leverkusen and Bochum, and also a 1-0 defeat by Lazio in the first leg of their Champions League round-of 16-tie last week.
It was the first time that Bayern have lost three competitive games in a row since May 2015, when they had already won the Bundesliga title.
“We have agreed that we will end our working relationship at the end of this season. Until then, I will of course continue to do everything I can with my coaching staff to achieve maximum success,” Tuchel said in a statement.
Should Bayern fail to make up the ground on Leverkusen, it would be the first time since the 2011-12 season that they have not won the domestic title.
Tuchel replaced Julien Nagelsmann as Bayern manager last March despite the club being just one point off the top of the Bundesliga and still in the Champions League.
He led them to the league title last season, but only secured the silverware on the final day after Borussia Dortmund’s failure to beat Mainz allowed Bayern to leapfrog them.
The summer saw Bayern Munich recruit Harry Kane from Tottenham Hotspur on a deal which could be worth up to €120 million ($131m), and Kim Min-Jae from Napoli for €50m ($55m). But that window also saw Lucas Hernández, Ryan Gravenberch, Benjamin Pavard and Sadio Mané all leave.
Bayern started the season well but have recently struggled to keep pace with Xabi Alonso’s unbeaten Bayer Leverkusen, losing four times and drawing twice in 22 games so far.
After their most recent defeat to Bochum on Sunday, Bayern’s CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen said Tuchel’s future was not up for discussion.
“I am not a fan of monstrous coach-backing statements — they usually run out after a week,” Dreesen said.
“But this [Tuchel’s future] is not an issue we are dealing with at the moment. We have to focus on our next matches.”
However that proved to be a short-lived view, with Bayern signalling their intention to move on from Tuchel with 12 matches of the season remaining.
“In a good, open discussion, we came to the decision to end our working relationship by mutual agreement in the summer,” Dreesen said in Wednesday’s statement.
“Our goal is to pursue a new footballing direction with a new head coach for the 2024-25 season. Until then, every individual at the club is expressly called upon to achieve the maximum possible in the Champions League and Bundesliga.
“I also explicitly hold the team accountable in this regard. In the Champions League in particular, after losing 1- 0 in the first leg at Lazio, we are convinced we will reach the quarterfinals at a packed Allianz Arena with our fans behind us.”