Thomas Tuchel’s difficult relationship with Chelsea co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali was the main reason why the club parted ways with the German earlier this week, according to The Athletic.

Issues began in pre-season when Tuchel was asked to take on more responsibility for player recruitment, following the departures of Marina Granovskaia and Petr Cech.

The Athletic quoted an unnamed Premier League executive who said that Boehly had described Tuchel as a “nightmare” to work with when trying to decide on transfer targets.

The German was not happy with being called into recruitment meetings on a regular basis, as he felt it took his time away from coaching (which he believed was his main job). As a result, there were occasions when he sent his agent to talk with Boehly and Eghbali about potential signings.

Tuchel also didn’t like the fact that he had to report in with Eghbali on a regular basis, which nearly led to him being sacked in July before Boehly had to “smooth things over.” That didn’t last though as, after the defeat to Leeds, Tuchel stopped communicating with the two owners. That consequently led to the decision to sack him.