Tuchel Has Burned Bridges With Mbappe, Lukaku, and a Surprising List of Stars

Thomas Tuchel just can’t seem to help himself. The England manager’s recent comments about Jude Bellingham — calling his on-pitch behavior “a bit repulsive” — aren’t some isolated incident. They’re part of a long, well-documented pattern of rubbing players the wrong way. Bellingham brushed off Tuchel’s post-match interview after England’s win over Norway in the World Cup quarterfinals, but the German tactician has a much longer rap sheet than just that one moment.

Tuchel’s reputation for clashing with owners and front offices is almost as famous as his tactical brain. Dortmund, PSG, Chelsea, Bayern — he’s left a trail of bruised executive egos everywhere. But sometimes he turns that intensity on the players too. Here’s a look at some of the biggest names who’ve felt the sting.

The Dortmund Days: Emre Mor and the Crawl

Back at Borussia Dortmund, Tuchel reportedly lost it on young winger Emre Mor after a particularly brutal punishment session. According to accounts at the time, Tuchel thought Mor wasn’t working hard enough in training. So he had the fitness coach make Mor crawl across the pitch on his hands and knees. When Mor complained, Tuchel allegedly fired back: “Shut your mouth! Shut your mouth! Shut your mouth!” Mor was then frozen out of the first team entirely. Rough stuff.

Sadio Mane’s Uncomfortable Exit

Tuchel was publicly diplomatic when Sadio Mane got into a fistfight with teammate Leroy Sane at Bayern Munich. He offered his “full support” after the apology and called Mane a professional. But behind the scenes, it was a different story. After a deeply underwhelming season in Bavaria, Tuchel didn’t pull any punches. “Basically, Sadio had an unsatisfactory season and fell short of expectations,” he said. With Kingsley Coman and Serge Gnabry in the mix, Tuchel made it clear there was no easy path back to the starting XI. Mane was off to Al Nassr soon after.

Shawn Parker Got the Full Rant

You might not remember Shawn Parker. We didn’t either, honestly. But his story is worth telling because it shows how demanding Tuchel was even during his early days at Mainz. Before a crucial match against Hamburg, Tuchel ripped into the young forward for ignoring his instructions in training. A video of the exchange went viral. “There is not a single ball for our game, it’s just for your own game!” Tuchel yelled. “Here a trick, there a trick and there another idea — and none of them works! I’m fed up!”

Romelu Lukaku’s $124 Million Disaster

This one is probably the most famous. Chelsea paid a club-record $124 million to bring Lukaku back in 2021, and it was a mess from almost the start. Lukaku gave that infamous interview with Sky Italia where he questioned Tuchel’s tactics and complained about being benched. “I’m not happy with the situation, this is normal,” he said. Mentioning his desire to return to Inter didn’t exactly help. Reports from The Athletic at the time claimed multiple Chelsea attackers were unhappy with how Tuchel used them. Lukaku was shipped back to Italy on loan less than a year later.

Kylian Mbappe: No Blowout But No Warmth Either

There was never a full-scale war between Mbappe and Tuchel at PSG. They speak respectfully about each other. Mbappe scored 83 goals and 47 assists in 98 games under the German. That’s more than he’s played for any other manager, and Tuchel is still the only coach to take him to a Champions League final. But their relationship was tense at times. In February 2020, Tuchel subbed Mbappe in a routine 5-0 win over Montpellier. Mbappe looked furious and reacted petulantly when Tuchel tried to explain. “I’m not angry,” Tuchel said afterward. “I’m sad.”

Nuri Sahin Left Out of the Cup Final

Tuchel left veteran Nuri Sahin out of Dortmund’s squad for the 2017 DFB Pokal final against Eintracht Frankfurt. Dortmund won 2-1 anyway, but captains Marcel Schmelzer and Marco Reus called the exclusion “a shock” and publicly backed their teammate. That turned out to be Tuchel’s last game in charge. His relationship with the front office was already fractured, but it was clear the players had had enough too.

Mats Hummels and the Cold Shoulder

The decision to sell Mats Hummels to Bayern Munich is often cited as a breaking point between Tuchel and Dortmund’s hierarchy. But the coach and the center-back didn’t exactly see eye to eye either. In Hummels’ final Dortmund appearance before leaving, Tuchel subbed him off during a penalty shootout loss to Bayern in the 2016 DFB Pokal final. When asked why, Tuchel gave a one-word answer: “Mats can do better.” The following season, with Hummels at Bayern, the two met up during an international break to clear the air. It seemed to help, but it was a rough way to go out.