Thomas Tuchel dismissed Cristiano Ronaldo in six-words that sum up new England boss

Thomas Tuchel’s response to the possibility of signing Cristiano Ronaldo suggests he will pick up where Gareth Southgate left off as England boss. The FA confirmed the German coach as Southgate’s successor this Wednesday.

He’ll take charge from interim boss Lee Carsley on January 1, having signed an 18-month contract to the end of the 2026 World Cup. Tuchel has amassed a commendable CV at club level.

He carved out his reputation in his home country at Mainz and Borussia Dortmund, clinching the DFB Pokal in 2017 with the latter before amassing a trophy cabinet that includes two Ligue 1 titles as well as four domestic cups with PSG, the coveted Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup during his time at Chelsea, and a Bundesliga triumph with Bayern Munich.

Despite Tuchel’s history of nurturing top football talent, one superstar he hasn’t crossed paths with is Ronaldo. While at Chelsea, Tuchel had the opportunity to sign the Portuguese legend when Todd Boehly wanted to sign him from Manchester United in the summer of 2022.

After United failed to secure Champions League football, Boehly sought to grant his wish of an Old Trafford exit and even met with his agent, Jorge Mendes. But Tuchel is said to have put the brakes on the transfer, with Bild claiming he told his boss that Ronaldo would “destroy the spirit in my dressing room.”

He was out the door just a matter of weeks into the season, and it is suggested that his departure was influenced by squad morale. So Tuchel clearly holds this as a key principle of his managerial approach, much like Southgate did.

He transformed the culture of the Three Lions camp from one which had been divided under previous bosses. Now there’s a clear unity radiating from St George’s Park.

The FA clearly factored that into their decision to appoint Tuchel, with CEO Mark Bullingham expressing in his announcement: “We are thrilled to have hired Thomas Tuchel, one of the best coaches in the world and Anthony Barry, who is one of the best, English coaches to support him.

“Our recruitment process has been very thorough. Before the Euros, we had a contingency plan and outlined exactly the qualities we would be looking for in a coach.

“Since Gareth resigned, we have worked through the candidate pool, meeting a number of coaches and evaluating them against that criteria. Thomas was very impressive and stood out with his vast expertise and his drive.

“Anthony is a top English talent and also has international experience with Republic of Ireland, Belgium and Portugal. Fundamentally we wanted to hire a coaching team to give us the best possible chance of winning a major tournament.

“And we believe they will do just that. Thomas and the team have a single-minded focus on giving us the best possible chance to win the World Cup in 2026.”