Bayern Munich to part ways with coach Thomas Tuchel after season

Bayern Munich will part ways with coach Thomas Tuchel at the end of what is so far a disappointing season by their standards, the club said on Wednesday.

Appointed 11 months ago, Tuchel's future had been questioned after three straight defeats for the 11-time reigning Bundesliga champions, and it has been agreed that he will not see out his contract until 2025.

"In a good, open discussion, we came to the decision to end our working relationship by mutual agreement in the summer. Our goal is to pursue a new footballing direction with a new head coach for the 2024/25 season," Bayern CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen said in a statement.

Tuchel said: "We have agreed that we will end our working relationship at the end of this season. Until then, I will of course continue to do everything I can with my coaching staff to achieve maximum success."

Bayern lost 3-0 in the Bundesliga at leaders Bayer Leverkusen, 1-0 at Lazio in the Champions League and 3-2 at Bochum in the league on Sunday in what midfielder Leon Goretzka named a week "like a horror movie" and forward Thomas Müller "a week to forget."

They were also beaten at home by Werder Bremen in January as they appear to lack stability as well as mentality. The next game is against RB Leipzig who beat Bayern the last two times in Munich.

Bayern's last season without a title was in 2011-12. They have won all 11 Bundesliga titles since then, four German Cups, and two Champions Leagues to clinch trebles in 2013 and 2020.

Now they trail Leverkusen by eight points, were ousted in the German by third division Saarbrücken and have to overcome the deficit against Lazio to stay alive in Europe.

Dreesen said that over the next weeks "every individual at the club is expressly called upon to achieve the maximum possible in the Champions League and Bundesliga.

"I also explicitly hold the team accountable in this regard. In the Champions League in particular, after losing 1-0 in the first leg at Lazio, we are convinced we will reach the quarter-finals at a packed Allianz Arena with our fans behind us."

Dreesen said after the Bochum match that Tuchel's position was not under threat as Bayern wanted to avoid at all costs changing coaches again in spring.

Tuchel has been accused of wrong tactics at times but also faced many injury problems and lamented that the players did not perform in the same way in matches than in training.

Bayern were still in all competitions when the former Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea coach Tuchel took over last year.

They were then ousted in the German Cup and Champions League, only won the Bundesliga on the final matchday because Dortmund faltered, and the new season started with a 3-0 defeat against Leipzig in the German Super Cup.

In the Bundesliga they are now confronted with a Leverkusen team that has gone unbeaten in all competitions this season to match Bayern's German record of 32 games without defeat in a row set four years ago.

Leverkusen are coached by Xabi Alonso who as a former Bayern player could be a top candidate for them in summer. But he is also linked with another ex-club, Liverpool, where Jürgen Klopp is leaving in summer.

Klopp, for his part, has been seen as a future Bayern coach but said he wants to take time off after leaving Anfield, which was confirmed by his agent, Marc Kosicke, on Wednesday.

"Jürgen Klopp will not coach a club or a national team for a year after the current season. That's the way it is", Kosicke told Sky TV.

In team news, midfielders Konrad Laimer and Aleksandar Pavlovic returned to training from injuries on Wednesday but it was unclear if they could feature against Laimer's former club Leipzig.