Thomas Tuchel says no to coaching Bayern Munich next season

Bayern Munich continue to face disappointment in their search for a new coach for the next season. After failing to get any of their four names on their shortlist, Bayern wantedTuchel to stay. Several senior players in the squad also wanted Tuchel to continue after a good run in the Champions League.

Despite the backing of the players, Bayern couldn’t reach an agreement with Tuchel to continue in the head coach position for next season. Tuchel told the German media on Friday that he will leave Bavaria at the end of the season. The German coach confirmed talks with the club hierarchy over-turning the decision to part ways.

Tuchel could go straight back into management after leaving Bayern as he has been heavily linked with Manchester United. The Premier League side is expected to part ways with Erik Ten Hag due to an underwhelming. The Dutch coach has been linked with Bayern in the last few weeks.

Max Eberl and Christoph Freund have endured disappointment several times in their quest to find a new head coach. They had made Bayer Leverkusen’s Xabi Alonso the top target to replace Tuchel, but the Spaniard decided to stay at Leverkusen for one more season.

Bayern also failed to convince Julian Nagelsmann and Ralf Rangnick to leave their roles at DFB and the Austrian national team. Nagelsmann ended up signing an extension with DFB, while Rangnick decided against moving to Bavaria due to personal reasons. 

The record Bundesliga champions tried to prise away Oliver Glasner from Crystal Palace. The London-based club rebuffed an attempt from Die Roten by quoting a fee of €100 million for Glasner. Die Roten have to go back to the drawing board after Tuchel rejected a chance to stay at the club.

Brighton’s Roberto De Zerbi remains on Bayern’s shortlist. Max Eberl reportedly held talks with De Zerbi during the international break in March. The Italian coach has a reasonable (£12 million) release clause in his contract at Brighton. If Bayern wants to get De Zerbi, they need to move quickly to secure his services.

Hansi Flick is another option for Bayern. The German coach has been heavily linked with a return to Die Roten. He has been out of football management since getting sacked by DFB in the second half of 2023. Flick had helped Bayern win the treble in 2019/20, but everyone at the club does not unanimously like him. With the season ending on Saturday, the spotlight is on Eberl and Freund to get the new coach at the club sooner rather than later.