Manchester United have been handed a major boost in their efforts to hire departing Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel, who has reaffirmed that he will be leaving the German giants this summer.
The former Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain head coach originally outlined his intentions to leave his post in February, as Bayern lost significant ground to Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga title race.
There would be no miraculous springtime recovery for FC Hollywood, whose 11-year spell of dominance in the German football scene was brought to an end by Xabi Alonso's unbeaten Leverkusen last month.
Owing to their semi-final loss to Real Madrid in the Champions League, as well as DFB-Pokal and German Super Cup failures, Bayern will end the season without a single piece of silverware to their name, although there has been talk of Tuchel potentially reversing his decision to step down.
Bayern have suffered multiple frustrations in their search for a Tuchel successor, with the likes of Alonso, Hansi Flick, Julian Nagelsmann, Ralf Rangnick and Julen Lopetegui all either unavailable or snubbing the job.
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Tuchel: 'We could not reach an agreement'
Consequently, the Bayern board entered discussions with Tuchel's camp over the possibility of keeping the 50-year-old at the Allianz Arena, but he supposedly wanted several transfer-related assurances in order to change his mind.
Speaking in Friday's press conference ahead of Saturday's Bundesliga showdown with Hoffenheim, Tuchel confirmed that his original decision from February still stands, and he will be taking charge of Bayern for the final time this weekend.
"This is my last press conference at Säbener Straße. There were talks, but we didn't reach an agreement, so the decision of February still stands," the Champions League-winning coach said.
"It's obviously tough. Results like in the Champions League against Lazio, Arsenal and Real bring you together. The feedback from recent weeks was the foundation for us having a discussion. But we couldn't reach an agreement. I won't name the reasons. The agreement from February stands.
"It's been clear to us all since February that the chapter was coming to an end. It's been a turbulent last week. It's important to keep the focus on tomorrow's game and bring it to a fitting conclusion."
Where could Tuchel go after Bayern exit?
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As the Bayern hierarchy now resume their failing search for a new head coach, speculation will swirl over Tuchel's next job prospects, as the German is already known to be pining for a return to English football.
The Bayern boss' recent admission will be music to the ears of Manchester United, who are thought to have earmarked Tuchel as a prime candidate to replace Erik ten Hag should the Dutchman be sacked at the end of the season.
The Red Devils are not expected to make a decision on Ten Hag's future until after next weekend's FA Cup final with Manchester City, but he is only thought to have a 50-50 chance of keeping his job.
A return to Chelsea is likely off the cards - Mauricio Pochettino is now expected to stay at Stamford Bridge - but there are fresh doubts over Xavi's future at Barcelona, potentially opening the door for Tuchel to try his hand at La Liga management.
Xavi had made a U-turn on his decision to leave the club but is alleged to have angered president Joan Laporta with recent comments about Barca's financial situation, which could lead to him being given the boot after all.
