Following an iffy start to the new season, Chelsea owners decided to part ways with Thomas Tuchel earlier this year, despite having backed him heavily in the transfer market in the summer. The German tactician was let go in favour of Graham Potter.
As for Tuchel, he is currently unattached to any club and had until recently been mentioned as a possible candidate for the England national team job, until it was confirmed that Gareth Southgate will remain in charge.
However, now, according to Christian Falk of BILD, Tuchel has left England as his residence and is working hard to learn the Spanish language, with Barcelona and Atletico Madrid mentioned as possible future destinations for the German tactician.
Tuchel has previously been linked with Barcelona, especially last year when there were question marks over Ronald Koeman’s continuity. However, the club backed the Dutchman initially, before eventually replacing him with Xavi Hernandez.
Since taking over the reins in November last year, the 42-year-old club legend has taken the team on an upward trajectory, securing Champions League football from an unlikely position last season while he has led the Blaugrana to the top of the La Liga standings this term.
There have been some questions about his capability due to the team underperforming in Europe. However, the club board has total faith in the 2010 FIFA World Cup winner to take the team forward.
So, the potential links to Tuchel, due to him learning Spanish, seem baseless at the moment. Similarly, not very long ago, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta had also been touted as a possible candidate for Barcelona for the immediate future.
For now, though, the Catalans are ready to back Xavi to come good and have faith that he can be the man to lead the team to success.
Tuchel could find a place at Atletico Madrid, however, with Diego Simeone’s future coming under doubts following Los Rojiblancos’ poor start to the campaign that saw them crash out of the Champions League and fail to qualify for the Europa League as well.