Bayer Leverkusen have dismissed manager Erik Ten Hag just two league matches into the new Bundesliga season, the club confirmed on Monday.
The Dutch coach, who was sacked by Manchester United in October 2024, had only taken charge of Leverkusen in July as successor to Xabi Alonso, who left for Real Madrid.
Sporting director Simon Rolfes admitted the decision was difficult but insisted the move was necessary given the team’s poor start.
“This decision was not easy for us. Nobody wanted to take this step,” Rolfes said in a statement.
“The past few weeks have shown that the steps to build a new and successful team have not been effective.”
Club CEO Fernando Carro echoed the sentiment, describing the move as “painful, but necessary.”
The dismissal means Ten Hag now holds the unwanted record of being the fastest manager ever sacked in Bundesliga history — just two matches into the season, beating the previous mark of five games.
Ten Hag was appointed United boss in 2022, winning both the FA Cup and League Cup, but was dismissed after a disastrous run midway through the 2024/25 Premier League campaign, where United collected only one win from eight games — their worst start in the modern era.
He arrived at Leverkusen during a transitional phase. The German champions were fresh off the most successful campaign in their history, winning a league and cup double while going unbeaten under Alonso. However, the squad was significantly weakened in the summer, with Florian Wirtz, Granit Xhaka, Jonathan Tah, Jeremie Frimpong, Amine Adli, and Lukas Hradecky all departing.
Leverkusen invested heavily in rebuilding, signing more than a dozen players, including record arrivals Malik Tilmann, Jarell Quansah, and Eliesse Ben Seghir for a combined €102 million.
Ten Hag’s reign began in disastrous fashion with a 5-1 friendly loss to Flamengo’s U20s in Brazil. A comfortable 4-0 German Cup win against fourth-tier Sonnenhof Grossaspach was followed by a shaky Bundesliga start.
Leverkusen squandered a lead to lose 2-1 at home to Hoffenheim before collapsing late on in a 3-3 draw with 10-man Werder Bremen, having been ahead 2-0 and 3-1.
Reports from Bild and Kicker over the weekend suggested Ten Hag’s job was on the line, and the club confirmed his departure less than 48 hours later.
For now, assistant coaches will oversee training sessions until a new permanent manager is appointed, the club said.
