Thomas Tuchel was unable to hide his admiration for the Premier League when discussing his next move ahead of Bayern Munich's Champions League semi-final second leg against Real Madrid.
Bayern head to the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday night having drawn the first leg 2-2 in Bavaria, with the victor facing Borussia Dortmund in the final at Wembley later this month.
Tuchel, who won the Champions League with Chelsea in 2021 having lost the final with Paris Saint-Germain a year earlier, has guided Bayern to the last four despite a disappointing season domestically.
Xabi Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen have run away with the Bundesliga to ensure that Tuchel has become the first Bayern boss to fail to win the league since Jurgen Klopp claimed the title with Dortmund in 2012.
It is those domestic struggles which led to the club and Tuchel to announce that he will be stepping down as manager at the end of the season after just 14 months in charge, with the German just one of several top coaches on the market during a summer of change.
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Tuchel has been among the names linked with replacing the under-fire Erik ten Hag at Manchester United, whose 4-0 loss at Crystal Palace on Monday has ramped up the pressure on the Dutchman.
And when asked by TNT Sports where he sees his future prior to the Real Madrid clash, Tuchel couldn't help but mention the Premier League.
Tuchel will lead his team into the Champions League semi-final second leg (Alberto Gardin/IPA Sport/ipa-agency.net/REX/Shutterstock)"I’d rather not answer but it is no secret that I loved it at Chelsea, I loved it in England," he said. "I loved it in the Premier League for sure, it was a very, very special time and I remember it very well."
With a return to Chelsea - where he was sacked in September 2022, 16 months after winning the Champions League - extremely unlikely, and the upcoming Liverpool vacancy created by Jurgen Klopp's departure soon to be filled by Arne Slot, Tuchel could well view United as his best option for a Premier League return should Ten Hag be sacked.
Elaborating on where he will be next season, he added; “It’s very, very, very unlikely that it’s at Bayern.
Erik ten Hag is under huge pressure at Manchester United (Getty Images)"I have to say, because we have an agreement, there is at the moment no reason to doubt this agreement. We took this position, the initiative came from the club, and so it is and I’m fine with it.
"I don’t need it for the extra percentage of competitiveness because I’m always up for a win, I’m always thinking how to improve the squad or how to improve myself in coaching.
"We go all in. Does it [winning Champions League] have an influence on where I am next season? Maybe not, maybe I’m on holiday no matter what, let’s see, let’s see.”
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