Thomas Tuchel forced to leave UK after Chelsea sacking

Former Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has become the first major footballing figure to fall foul of the post-Brexit visa laws in the UK, with him now forced to leave the country.

Tuchel was sacked by Chelsea in September despite delivering the Champions League title to the Blues in 2021.

Following his sacking, new Chelsea owner Todd Boehly claimed a ‘lack of a shared vision for the club’ was the reason behind it and replaced him with Graham Potter.

That has had some serious implications for Tuchel personally now, and he will now have to leave England in December despite his family being settled in Surrey, where his two young daughters go to school.

When Tuchel arrived in England, he did so under a post-Brexit Governing Body Endorsement visa, but it expired when he became unemployed despite him being to argue he raised the profile of English football by winning the Champions league and helped to develop homegrown international footballers.

In a further twist, the Telegraph reports two of his assistants, Zsolt Low and Benjamin Webber, will not have to leave the country when Tuchel does because Chelsea have placed them on gardening leave, protecting them from their visa expiring.

Tuchel is now understood to be relocating to Munich, although he will continue to visit London regularly as he awaits the right offer to return to football.

Ironically, that may come from the FA should England boss Gareth Southgate leave his job after the World Cup next month.