Football Association chief executive Mark Bullingham confirmed Thomas Tuchel's England contract extension includes performance conditions, while declining to reveal whether a post-World Cup break clause exists in the new agreement through Euro 2028.

The FA formally announced Thursday that Tuchel agreed to remain as England head coach through the European Championship on home soil in 2028. The deal drew scrutiny from critics who argued the FA should have waited until after this summer's World Cup.

Bullingham pushed back on that position during remarks at the UEFA Congress in Brussels.

"I just don't think that's realistic," Bullingham told reporters. "When you look at anyone in any business on a fixed-term contract, clearly when you get to the end of that fixed-term contract, they will already be considering their future. From our point of view, we felt like we had a world-class coach doing a really good job for us and we wanted him to carry on."

On the subject of performance benchmarks, Bullingham was direct but guarded. "We've appointed him with a view to him being our coach for 2028. Every single person has performance conditions in their contract, you wouldn't expect me to go into those. I've got them as well, but we're really clear that we want him coaching us in 2028."

Bullingham also rejected suggestions the extension was triggered by Ruben Amorim's exit at Manchester United. He stated that contract discussions began well before Amorim's dismissal and developed naturally following England's World Cup qualification.

Sources told ESPN the FA moved to shield Tuchel from an anticipated summer managerial carousel involving several prominent coaches reaching contract expiration.