Thomas Tuchel
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.
Bayern have lost their past 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 Julian 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.
