Erik ten Hag sacked by Bayer Leverkusen for FIVE reasons as staggering pay-off emerges

Erik ten Hag was given just three games in charge of Bayer Leverkusen but it was issues behind the scenes which were at the centre of their brutal decision to sack him

A list of five reasons why Erik ten Hag was ruthlessly sacked Bayer Leverkusen has emerged in the wake of his shock departure. Ten Hag, 55, only lasted three games at the German club, who needed to replace Xabi Alonso this summer after he made the move to Real Madrid.

The ex-Manchester United boss had been appointed on May 26 and was axed on Monday – before the transfer window had even closed – meaning that his rudderless reign lasted just 98 days. Ten Hag, who leaves with a daily earning of £86,000 because of his £5.2million salary and severance package – was always facing a difficult task at the Bay Arena.

Alonso’s time in charge was a rousing success, winning the Bundesliga in 2024 to end Bayern Munich’s stronghold on the German title – all while going unbeaten domestically. Leverkusen then finished second last term, only losing three league games.

But it wasn’t just Alonso who left. In a summer of widespread change, Leverkusen lost star man Florian Wirtz, influential wing-back Jeremie Frimpong, the experienced Granit Xhaka, defensive rock Jonathan Tah and captain-goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky.

Despite there being plenty of goodwill for Ten Hag to succeed in the circumstances, he’s been branded the worst club in their history. A report has now revealed five reasons why he was axed so soon.

READ MORE: Erik ten Hag was utterly humiliated by Leverkusen staff before ‘unprecedented’ sackingREAD MORE: Truth behind Erik ten Hag’s brutal Bayer Leverkusen sacking as two issues emerge

First of all, according to German outlet Bild, Ten Hag failed to get along with any of his players or staff, even those who arrived with him in July. Following a rocky pre-season which included a now infamous 5-0 hammering against Flamengo’s under-21s, the Dutchman is said to have refused to ‘rousing’ speech before Leverkusen’s first league game Hoffenheim which ended in a 2-1 defeat.

Next, Ten Hag was accused of ‘interfering’ with Leverkusen’s transfer plans and only proposed to sign players who are represented by the same agency as him. The 55-year-old is part of SEG, who also represent Rasmus Hojlund, and reportedly worked on the big-money deals which brought Andre Onana and Antony to United.

Did Erik ten Hag deserve more time at Bayer Leverkusen? Have your say in the comments section.

Further to the transfer trouble, it’s claimed that Ten Hag didn’t know about Lucas Vazquez’s arrival from Madrid until after the Spanish wing-back had signed his contract. The former Ajax manager also insisted that Xhaka wouldn’t be moving to Sunderland, despite Leverkusen agreeing to let the Swiss midfielder go, which he eventually did.

Thirdly, Ten Hag’s training sessions didn’t inspire confidence. He reportedly insisted that doing press-ups was important as working with the ball, and his sessions were ‘unusually long’.

Staff were also concerned about the ‘cold’ atmosphere around the club since Ten Hag’s appointment. A major disconnect emerged, with even nutritionists and physios becoming disillusioned.

And finally, results on the pitch were damning. Having started with 4-0 win away to fourth-tier side Sonnenhof Grossaspach – who had two went sent off – in the first round of the DFB Pokal, Leverkusen failed to win either of their first two Bundesliga games.

Their campaign began with the aforementioned 2-1 loss at home to Hoffenheim before a humiliating 3-3 draw at Werder Bremen. It went down as an embarrassing result because Bremen were already down to 10 men when Ten Hag’s side went 3-1 up with less than half an hour to play.

Within 48 hours of full-time, Leverkusen chiefs decided to brutally wield the axe. Ten Hag quickly responded with a statement criticising the club’s hierarchy for not giving him the ‘time’ or ‘space’ to ‘implement his vision’, and he described his dismissal as ‘unprecedented’.

He also stated: “This was never a relationship based on mutual trust.” Leverkusen are yet to appoint his successor, with Xavi Hernandez, Ange Postecoglou and Edin Terzic all linked.

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