Thomas Tuchel responded to FC Barcelona’s defender, Ronald Araujo, to Bayern Munich rumours on Saturday after he was asked by the reporters following a thumping 5-1 loss against Eintracht Frankfurt.
Bayern went 3-0 down in just 36 minutes and then went on to lose the game 5-1 in one of the biggest upsets of the Bundesliga 2023/24 season as the German giants continue to follow Bayer Leverkusen for the first spot.
Before the game, rumours were escalating all over the news that Bayern had made Araujo their primary target and Tuchel had a chat with the defender over a phone call.
Tuchel went on to deny the reports and responded to the phone call part in a sarcastic way.
“I won’t comment on that in any direction. We only talk about our players - I also spoke to my mother on the phone and there were no reports of it,” Tuchel told reporters.
It must be noted that Araujo’s camp responded to the rumours on the same day by confirming that the Uruguayan has eyes only for Barca.
Araujo is currently captaining the Barcelona side after first-choice skipper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen was ruled out for two to three months as he required back surgery.
The 24-year-old has repeatedly made it clear that he is happy at the Catalan club and has no intention to leave.
“It’s so special to be at Barca and have the chance to be captain,” Araujo said after wearing the armband in the UEFA Champions League encounter against Porto.
Remember, Bayern currently sit on second position with 32 points, three behind Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen who have been in top form and are the only team in Europe’s top five leagues to have not lost a single match.