Former Chelsea striker Timo Werner has taken a swipe at his old boss Thomas Tuchel for ‘forgetting’ his success in Germany ahead of RB Leipzig’s Champions League clash with Manchester City.
The German striker returned to Leipzig in the summer after an inconsistent two-year spell at Stamford Bridge.
The 26-year-old admitted that he had to return to Germany to get his ‘enjoyment’ of football back, especially after Chelsea splashed out £98million on Romelu Lukaku despite Werner helping the Blues become European champions.
Werner went from starting up front as Chelsea beat Man City 1-0 to win the Champions League in May 2021, to seeing Lukaku brought back to the Bridge just three months later, leaving Werner full of doubt over his future in Tuchel’s plans.
Speaking to The Sun ahead of Leipzig’s massive last-16 tie with the English champions, Werner said: ‘The biggest problem was 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.’
He admitted that it was his ‘toughest moment’ to see Chelsea spend that amount of money on a striker, leaving him not feeling ‘honoured’ enough.
Werner also opened up about Tuchel forgetting about the success he had in Germany prior to his move to the Premier League.
‘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,’ he added.
‘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.’
Eighteen months later, Werner has admitted that there is not bad blood between him and Tuchel, despite him feeling like a ‘scapegoat’ for Tuchel’s demise.
He opened up about his confidence dropping after missing big chances, while also having several goals chalked off.
Werner racked up 23 goals and 21 assists in 89 appearances during his time at Chelsea, but he was most prolific in the Champions League – netting eight times in 17 games.
The German has scored 11 times in 23 games this season for Leipzig and will hope to add to that tally on Wednesday night.
SOURCE: dailymail.co.uk
