England: Thomas Tuchel exit clauses revealed with Pep Guardiola verbal agreement

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·17 Juli 2026

England: Thomas Tuchel exit clauses revealed with Pep Guardiola verbal agreement

A new report has revealed that there are exit ‘clauses’ in Thomas Tuchel’s England contract following a ‘verbal agreement’ with Pep Guardiola.

After England‘s loss to Spain in the 2024 European Championship final. former boss Gareth Southgate stepped down and FA replaced him with Tuchel.

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Tuchel was brought in because he is a serial winner and he was tasked with taking England to another level at a major tournament.

Initially, he only penned a contract until 2026, but he extended his deal to 2028 before the World Cup.

Tuchel has not been afraid to make bold decisions since becoming England manager and he has largely been praised for his in-game management at the World Cup, but he contributed to his side’s exit against Argentina in the semi-final on Wednesday night.

The Three Lions had Argentina right where they wanted them after Anthony Gordon broke the deadlock shortly after half-time, but their response to going ahead was to retreat within themselves and invite huge pressure on their goal.

Argentina struck the post twice before turning the game around via goals from Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez to progress to the final with a 2-1 victory.

Rightly or wrongly, Tuchel has been made the scapegoat for England’s World Cup exit, but a report on Thursday confirmed that the FA intend to stick with the German boss beyond the tournament.

It remains to be seen whether the public outcry could change the FA’s mind on Tuchel, but a new report from The Athletic has shed light on his situation.

Pep Guardiola ‘verbal agreement’ revealed with Thomas Tuchel exit ‘clauses’

The report has revealed that Tuchel was not the FA’s leading target to replace Southgate because they initially targeted Man City legend Guardiola and had a ‘verbal agreement’.

The report explains:

‘Its first target was Pep Guardiola, with whom there was a verbal agreement, before he decided to renew with Manchester City. That led it to Tuchel, a Champions League winner in his own right, instead.’

Looking ahead, the same report claims Tuchel has exit ‘clauses’ in his contract that could have been triggered if England failed to reach the World Cup quarter-finals.

They have also stated that a couple of factors could have resulted in the FA and Tuchel reaching an agreement over an exit.

The report claims:

‘The messaging was very clear in the aftermath of the Argentina defeat that both Tuchel and the FA are committed to one another. There were clauses in Tuchel’s contract under which both parties could have agreed to his exit, after a good-faith negotiation that could have seen the FA step away (with Tuchel getting compensation) or Tuchel leave for a big opportunity elsewhere (again with the FA receiving compensation) should England be knocked out at the group stage, the last 32 or the last 16. ‘An exemption was subsequently made for the latter once it became clear that England were in line to face Mexico at the Azteca.’