(Video): Watch why Chelsea players kissed and celebrated with Tuchel’s shoes after UCL win
Eagle-eyed Chelsea fans will have spotted something slightly unusual during their Champions League celebrations on Saturday night.
The Blues conquered Manchester City, beating them 1-0 in Porto thanks to Kai Havertz’s decisive first-half strike.
At the full-time whistle, the party began for the Chelsea players.
Some – such as Edouard Mendy, Olivier Giroud, Kurt Zouma and Antonio Rudiger – bizarrely started kissing manager Thomas Tuchel’s shoes.
In the dressing room, the boss was seen taking off his shoes and lifting them aloft like the trophy. All the players around him joined in with this odd ritual, and the reason behind it has now been explained.
Tuchel revealed in one of his post-match interviews that the shoes were in fact a gift given to him last year by the PSG president.
He said he promised those at PSG that he’d wear them in their Champions League final against Bayern Munich.
However, he forgot and they lost the match 1-0. This time around, he kept the shoes and made sure to wear them for Chelsea’s final due to the superstition.
“I had these shoes in Paris and I made a promise that we will wear these shoes when we reach the Champions League final,” Tuchel said.
“They were a present from the president at PSG and I promised my staff I would wear them in the final.
Boss. ?#ChelseaChampions #UCLFinal pic.twitter.com/sa5KHaBdJL
— Champions of Europe ? (@ChelseaFC) May 29, 2021
“I did not wear them, so we lost. I wore them today and they worked.”
Chelsea players wanted to kiss Thomas Tuchel's feet after their Champions League triumph in Porto ??#UCLfinal pic.twitter.com/n2D3YQvxNO
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) May 30, 2021