Chelsea ‘scapegoat’ hits out at Tuchel as £97m signing was his ‘biggest problem’ – ‘I just wanted out’
Former Chelsea forward Timo Werner has hit out at Thomas Tuchel as he was “unfairly” treated by the German manager during his time at Stamford Bridge.
Werner signed for Chelsea in 2020 after he scored 34 goals in 45 appearances for RB Leipzig during the 2019/20 campaign. He moved to the Premier League after the Blues activated his £47.5m release clause.
Despite him previously being a prolific goalscorer, Werner was regularly criticised while at Chelsea as he often spurned chances.
The 26-year-old was signed by Frank Lampard, who was replaced by Tuchel during his debut season. Together, they helped Chelsea win the Champions League but it is clear now that they did not get on too well.
Werner has accused Tuchel of “forgetting” his good performances and his manager’s treatment of him made him feel like he “had to move back to Leipzig” last summer.
“I scored the goals and played good games,” Werner told The Sun.
“When you come from the kind of success I had in Germany or with Chelsea — playing nearly every game in the first season, winning the Champions League in 2021, scoring in the semi-final against Real Madrid, making a lot of goals.
“Then all this gets a little bit forgotten by the manager, it was not really fair.
“That was also a reason I had to move back to Leipzig, to get the enjoyment again. I didn’t feel that any more but you need it to be successful.
“In the end, a manager likes some players more than others — it’s completely normal and you have to accept that. Maybe yes, in the end, I just wanted out.”
Werner has also revealed that he was unhappy that Chelsea opted to sign Romelu Lukaku for around £97m from Inter Milan after they won the Champions League. The German international felt that this was his “biggest problem” at Stamford Bridge.
“The biggest problem was that he put a striker like Lukaku in front of me in the second season after I won the Champions League by nearly playing every game in the first squad,” Werner added.
“That was the toughest moment for me to get a player, a very good player, in front of me for 120million euros.
“Romelu was a big striker and had to play after costing so much and I didn’t feel honoured enough.
“Maybe that was also a reason why I had ups and downs.”
Werner has insisted that he does not have “anything against” Chelsea’s fans, but he feels like he was made to be a “scapegoat” while he was at the club.
“The manager who brought me in (Frank Lampard) was sacked a few months later which was not the best for a player who joined the club after talking to this manager,” Werner continued.
“In the end, I missed some chances and was unlucky with VAR decisions. You could see my confidence dropped.
“From the outside, it was easy to scapegoat me, whether that was from the media or coaches, whatever.
“But at least the fans were always behind me, they supported me. I can’t say anything against them.”
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