Jude Bellingham’s return to the England starting eleven against Albania on Sunday should have signalled the end of his and Thomas Tuchel’s differences.
Differences which incredibly saw the Galactico, who has been so key for the Three Lions in recent years, omitted from his national team’s squad last month.
However after 84 minutes in Tirana, Bellingham reignited speculation of a feud between him and Tuchel when he waved his arms in the air at the sight of Morgan Rogers, his replacement, stripped and ready to come on.
Asked about the 22-year-old’s behaviour post-match, the former Chelsea boss said: ‘I saw he was not happy. I don’t want to make more out of it but I stick to words, “behaviour is key” and respect towards the team-mates who come in. Decisions are made and you have to accept it as a player.’
Bellingham is far from the only star to have clashed with England’s authoritarian manager.
So from a run-in with Kylian Mbappe to a dramatic fallout with Romelu Lukaku, Daily Mail Sport takes a look at the times where Tuchel has taken no prisoners.
A humiliation ritual at BVB
Long before he gained the aura of becoming a Champions League-winning manager, Tuchel’s stringent managerial methods were just the same.
A successful four years at Mainz in his maiden role as a first-team head coach earned the German a move to Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2015.
At BVB he would inherit a squad including stars such as Mats Hummels, Marco Reus and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and go on to secure Champions League football in both of his seasons at the helm.
However despite such successes on the pitch, Tuchel fell out with a number of Dortmund stars during his tenure at Signal Iduna Park.
He publicly criticised Hummels for a ‘poor performance’ in a cup final defeat to Bayern Munich in 2016 and also clashed with senior figures such as Neven Subotic, Jakub Blaszczykowski and Roman Weidenfeller.
But it was a falling out with young Turkish winger Emre Mor that resulted in Tuchel dishing out one of the most extraordinary punishments made public in recent times.
After Mor questioned his methods in a training session, Tuchel employed a Dortmund fitness coach to make the star crawl across the pitch on his hands and knees as retribution.
According to German reports, perhaps understandable complaints from Mor were met with cries of ‘shut your mouth!’ from his no-nonsense manager.
Mbappe’s problem
Under no manager has the phenomenal Kylian Mbappe scored more goals and provided more assists than when he was working under Tuchel at PSG.
The Frenchman netted an incredible 83 and set-up 47 during his 98 appearances for the 52-year-old. The only trophy which eluded PSG in the Tuchel era was the one that mattered most, the Champions League.
But Mbappe and Tuchel’s relationship was not without its problems. The superstar, then in his early 20s, often cut a frustrated figure when he was substituted.
It was understood that Tuchel felt Mbappe, as opposed to the likes of Neymar Jr and Angel di Maria, needed resting at times to aid his development.
Mbappe, however, believed he deserved the same treatment as PSG’s senior pros and, during a routine 5-0 win over Montpellier in February 2020, made clear his annoyance.
As his number was displayed on the fourth official’s board, much the same as Bellingham this week, the World Cup winner petulantly threw up his arms as he trudged towards the touchline.
It, unsurprisingly, prompted a far from ecstatic response from Tuchel post-match.
‘I’m not angry,’ he admitted. ‘I’m sad.’
Drama at FC Hollywood
Tuchel’s tenure in charge of Bayern Munich, or ‘FC Hollywood’, as they’re described by the German media, was one filled with drama.
He won the Bundesliga in his first year thanks to a late goal from Jamal Musiala on the final day but was sacked the following season amid Bayer Leverkusen’s Bundesliga triumph.
His dismissal was believed to have been brought on by factors other than merely the team’s poor season on the pitch, such as rifts with some of Bayern’s most senior players.
German legend Thomas Muller was thought to have been unhappy at a lack of playing time while Joshua Kimmich was at odds with Tuchel’s decision to deploy him as a right-back.
The pair’s feud unravelled in front of the public during a clash with Bochum when Kimmich reacted furiously to being subbed off.
The midfielder later confronted Tuchel’s trusted assistant Zsolt Low after the game, inciting an outburst from the man at the helm a short time later.
‘You’re not as good as I thought,’ Sky Germany reported that Tuchel told his players. ‘Then I have to adapt to your level.’
Lukaku’s nightmare in west London
When Tuchel’s Chelsea splashed out £97.5million on Romelu Lukaku in the summer of 2021, many backed them for the title.
But the move was an all-round disaster. Lukaku netted just five Premier League goals before giving a bombshell interview to Sky Italia in December of that year criticising Tuchel and his tactics.
‘Physically I am fine,’ Lukaku said. ‘But I’m not happy with the situation at Chelsea. Tuchel has chosen to play in another system. I really genuinely from the bottom of my heart hope I come back to Inter.’
Later that same week, Tuchel, perhaps surprisingly, revealed that the feud had been resolved. ‘He should have known better, that’s why we have to clean it and clear the air together,’ he told reporters.
Yet at the end of the season Lukaku was shipped back to Serie A, joining Napoli in a £30million deal.
That suggests Tuchel did not wholeheartedly accepted any apology.
