Bayern Munich have confirmed the appointment of Thomas Tuchel as their new manager, with Julian Nagelsmann being relieved of his duties.
Nagelsmann was only brought into the job from RB Leipzig in the summer of 2021, but reports on Thursday evening claimed that the 35-year-old was set for a shock dismissal.
The German steered Bayern to Bundesliga glory in the 2021-22 season, and they eased into the quarter-finals of the 2022-23 Champions League courtesy of a 3-0 aggregate win over Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16.
However, the Bavarians are one point adrift of Borussia Dortmund at the top of the Bundesliga standings after 25 matches this season, and Nagelsmann was let go in a meeting with Bayern chiefs earlier on Friday.
Tuchel had been out of work since being given the boot by Chelsea in September, but the 49-year-old was understood to have been Bayern's top managerial candidate for some time, and he has signed a contract at the Allianz Arena until 2025.
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Bayern CEO Oliver Kahn announced that the decision to sack Nagelsmann - whose contract with Bayern ran until 2026 - was largely down to the Bavarians playing "less successfully and less attractively" since the World Cup.
"When we signed Julian Nagelsmann for FC Bayern in the summer of 2021, we were convinced we would work with him on a long-term basis - and that was the goal of all of us right up to the end," the 53-year-old told fcbayern.com.
"Julian shares our aspiration to play successful and attractive football. But now we have come to the conclusion that the quality in our squad - despite the Bundesliga title last year - has come to the fore less and less often. After the World Cup we have played less successfully and less attractively.
"The big fluctuations in performance have cast doubt on our goals for this season, but also our goals for the future. That is why we have acted now. Personally and on behalf of FC Bayern, I would like to thank Julian and his coaching team, and wish everyone the best of luck for the future."
As well as winning the 2021-22 Bundesliga title - Bayern's 10th in a row in the German top flight - Nagelsmann also clinched two Super Cup successes with the perennial champions, winning 60, drawing 14 and losing 10 of his 84 games in charge.
Since the turn of the year, though, Bayern have dropped points in five Bundesliga matches, including a 2-1 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen just before the international break.
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Sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic admitted that the decision to sack the 35-year-old - who was said to have been left stunned by the news on Thursday - was the most difficult of his career so far.
"This has been the most difficult decision in my time as a board member for sport at Bayern Munich. I have had an open, trusting, friendly relationship with Julian from day one. I regret the parting of the ways with Julian," Salihamidzic added.
"But after a thorough analysis of the sporting development of our team, especially since January and with the experience of the second half of the previous season, we have now decided to release him. I am very grateful to Julian for what he has done for FC Bayern and I wish him all the best."
Following his sacking, Nagelsmann is now thought to be on the radar of Tottenham Hotspur, who are hoping to speak with the former Hoffenheim manager amid uncertainty over Antonio Conte's future.
Tuchel was also linked with the Spurs job, but the ex-Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain boss now returns to the pinnacle of German football nearly six years after leaving Borussia Dortmund at the end of the 2016-17 campaign.
The 49-year-old won the Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup during his time with Chelsea, and his first game in charge of Bayern will appropriately be a reunion with Dortmund in Der Klassiker on April 1.
Ben Knapton
