Thomas Tuchel: My mother finds Jude Bellingham's behaviour ‘repulsive'

Telegraph

4 days ago

Thomas Tuchel has said his own mother finds Jude Bellingham 's behaviour 'repulsive' and the England midfielder needs to channel his anger away from his own team-mates and referees.
Bellingham has started all World Cup qualifiers under Tuchel, who has seen the Real Madrid player 'intimidate' officials and other England players with his high demands. After coming off the bench in this week's friendly defeat to Senegal, he kicked a water cooler in frustration after having a goal disallowed at the City Ground.
Tuchel, who will be without Bellingham for September internationals as the midfielder recovers from shoulder surgery, says the 21-year-old's conduct has even been noted by his mother, Gabriele, while watching matches on TV in his hometown of Krumbach in Germany.
'How we can have the best version of him and for people to understand what he's bringing to us and that he's bringing a certain edge,' Tuchel said. 'But I see that it can create mixed emotions. I see this with my parents, with my mum that she sometimes cannot see the nice and well-educated and well-behaved guy that I see, and the smile.
'If he smiles, he wins everyone, but sometimes you see the rage, the hunger and the fire and it comes out in a way that can be a bit repulsive. For example, for my mother when she sits in front of the TV, I see that.'
Tuchel, who was speaking on talkSPORT, was interviewed live the day after the 3-1 defeat to Senegal, the first loss in England's history against African opponents. Bellingham's goal was ruled out after Levi Colwill was adjudged to have handled from a corner, sparking a furious response towards female referee Stéphanie Frappart.
Jude Bellingham scores for England but it's ruled out for handball by Levi Colwill in the build-up ❌
Should this one have stood? 🤔 #ITVFootball | #ThreeLions pic.twitter.com/cYoaJZaGe4
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) June 10, 2025
'Jude brings an edge, which we welcome and which is needed if we want to achieve big things. It needs to be channelled. The edge needs to be channelled towards the opponent, towards our goal and not to intimidate teammates or to be over-aggressive towards teammates or referees, but towards opponents and always towards the solution, meaning towards winning and we are on that,' said Tuchel.
'He has the fire. I don't want to dim this down. He should play with this kind of fire, that's his strength. But the fire comes also with some attributes that can intimidate you. Maybe even as a team-mate, and you see sometimes the explosion towards referees and the anger in his game, so if he can channel this in the right way and we can help him in this, then for sure he has something that we need and he has a certain edge that is hard to find.'
On the subject of team-mates supporting each other, Tuchel insisted that Jordan Henderson's return to the squad has been a success and claimed he has lifted the performance levels of others. The England manager was effectively saying the Ajax midfielder, 35 next week, is firmly in his plans for the World Cup squad next year.
'Since I saw him, observed him in camp, I am more convinced than ever that he is a very, very important addition to this group. Especially when we talk about connections, especially about setting standards and keeping the group up to the standards he is at the moment. He is the man that I don't want to miss,' Tuchel said.
'He is still lean, he's still fit, he still ready to push on an international level. I'm convinced he's ambitious, he pushes the group, he takes care of training, he takes care of the attitude. He brings players together. So we see different, better versions of players when Jordan is in camp than if he is not in camp.'
Tuchel will travel to America next week and look at potential training camps for England ahead of the World Cup next year, with work needed to be done before qualification is secured. He will also watch Club World Cup games, but has raised concerns about the mental toll it will take on players.
'It's just like the amount of time the players will spend now in the US, the amount of time they will spend in hotel rooms and travelling feels just for me heavy, heavy on their shoulders. I can even understand that players, once the thing starts, get excited and get ambitious to add another trophy, but I think it's a long period of time for the players to be constantly switched on,' he said.
Meanwhile, Tuchel has also suggested he would consider staying on after his contract runs out next year, even if England were not triumphant at the World Cup.
'I will always be tempted to stay because I love the group and I love the opportunity. It's an honour to be English head coach. I know what's coming after a huge tournament in England. I will always be tempted. I can tell you that, after even after the disappointing result,' he added.
'If you ask me today, yes, because like I said, I feel that I'm in the right place. I enjoy being where I am at the moment. I love the new challenge, I wanted a new challenge. I wanted the new environment. I feel the support, I felt the trust and respect of the people in the federation. I love a group of players, I want to push them. And it just feels right, so clear yes from my side until today.'