Bayer Leverkusen has sacked the former Manchester United manager Erik Ten Hag. The Dutchman saw his team blow a two-goal lead against Werder Bremen on Saturday.
“Bayer 04 Leverkusen has parted ways with head coach Erik ten Hag with immediate effect.”
“Training will be taken over by the assistant coaching staff for the time being,” Leverkusen said in a statement.
It’s a ruthless decision made by the club hierarchy this early into the season. The Bundesliga title winners of 2023/2024 hired Ten Hag after Xavi Alonso left for Real Madrid.
The club then lost key players of the title-winning team. Early in the summer transfer window, Floren Wirtz signed for Liverpool, followed by the Dutch fullback Jeremie Frimpong.. Granit Xhaka is the latest member of the winning team to depart the club.
Bayern Munich snatched the defender Jonathan Tah to inflict further damage on Leverkusen’s squad.
The German side made some signings under Ten Hag. Notably, the defenders Loic Bade and Jarell Quansah from Sevilla and Liverpool, respectively. Lucas Vázquez also joined the side from the LaLiga giants Real Madrid.
It’s been reported that Erik was criticizing the player’s fitness. Something he used to do when he was managing Manchester United. He came into a huge argument over Cristiano Ronaldo’s place in the starting lineup. There are also reports suggesting Ten Hag was not in agreement with the board on sanctioning the sale of Granit Xhaka to Sunderland.
Bad week for former Manchester United managers
The Dutchman’s dismissal continued a brutal trend for Manchester United’s former Managers being sacked in the past week.
Besiktas parted ways with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer following their failure to progress in the Conference League play-offs.
The Turkish side, Fenerbahce, then announced the departure of Jose Mourinho last Friday after coming up short in his attempt to get his side into the Champions League.
