Agent confirms Nagelsmann rejected Chelsea
Julian Nagelsmann was Chelsea's first choice in their search for a new manager, according to his agent Volker Struth.
| Photo: Steffen Prößdorf, CC BY-SA 4.0 |
"They called very quickly. There were a few phone calls," Struth told Bild's Phrasenmäher podcast.
Nagelsmann, however, ultimately decided to turn down Chelsea's advances, and he made "the right decision" in doing so, Struth noted.
"It's a club in trouble at the moment. And their transfer policy, which has seen them spend around 100 million euros, has raised expectations that have to be met. There have also been other problems," he said.
According to Struth, Nagelsmann was Chelsea's first choice for the job as manager.
"That was our information. I think it would have happened if he wanted it," the agent said.
In the same interview, Struth also explained how Nagelsmann's sacking as Bayern coach happened from his and his client's perspective.
"I was in a restaurant that evening when I got a call from a journalist who said: 'Things went fast with Julian'. I replied: 'What do you mean?'. He said: 'You don't know yet? Julian is out and Tuchel is the new coach!'
"We got more and more messages throughout the evening and then we contacted Julian - he didn't know either and asked us: 'Are you kidding me?
"One or two hours later, there was so much information in the media that Sascha Breese (Nagelsmann's other agent) contacted [Bayern sporting director] Hasan Salihamidžić and asked via WhatsApp: 'Do we need to know anything?'
"And then the call came [from Salihamidžić]: 'Come to the office on Säbener Strasse tomorrow'. Then we knew that something was going on."