Bayer Leverkusen Dismisses Erik ten Hag After Two Games

Bayer Leverkusen has terminated the contract of Erik ten Hag, previously the manager of Manchester United, following his brief tenure of only two league matches. The announcement was made by the Bundesliga club on Monday.

Leverkusen’s season commenced with a 2-1 defeat at home against Hoffenheim and continued with a 3-3 draw against Bremen, who were down to 10 men. These results precipitated the conclusion of Ten Hag’s time with the club.

The Dutch manager had taken over at the German club in May on a two-year agreement, succeeding Xabi Alonso, who departed for Real Madrid.

Ten Hag had also been previously dismissed by Manchester United, a Premier League club, in October.

Leverkusen’s Sporting Director, Simon Rolfes, acknowledged in a statement that the choice was difficult, but recent weeks demonstrated that establishing a successful team was not achievable under the current structure.

Statement from Simon Rolfes

“This decision was not an easy one for us. Nobody wanted to take this step. However, the past few weeks have shown that building a new and successful team with this set-up is not feasible.”

His dismissal after a mere two games marks the shortest tenure in Bundesliga history, surpassing the previous record of five games.

Under Alonso’s guidance, Leverkusen achieved a double in the 2023-24 season, securing their inaugural Bundesliga title without a single defeat, and finished as league runners-up in the subsequent campaign.

Subsequent to Ten Hag’s arrival, key players such as Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong, Granit Xhaka, Jonathan Tah, and Amine Adli transferred to other clubs, complicating his task of leading the team effectively.

Leverkusen CEO Fernando Carro stated that while parting ways at this point is regrettable, the action was deemed necessary.

Statement from Fernando Carro

“A parting of ways at this early stage of the season is painful, but we felt it was necessary. We remain committed to achieving our goals for the season – and to do that, we need the best possible conditions at all levels and across the entire first team.”