Erik ten Hag was the latest Manchester United manager in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era to enjoy a positive start and an awful end to his time in charge.
Hired to replace interim boss Ralf Rangnick in 2022, the former Ajax boss initially transformed United's fortunes, leading them to an EFL Cup win, an FA Cup final place and third position in the Premier League in his first season.
Then, things began to turn sour. The 2023/24 campaign was almost entirely awful and, despite a stay of execution for a few months, Ten Hag lost his job in October last year.
The Sporting News looks at what went wrong, and what happened next.
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What happened to Erik ten Hag?
Ten Hag was sacked by Manchester United on October 28, 2024, less than four months after he was given a one-year contract extension at Old Trafford.
United's poor run of form in the early part of 2024/25 prompted the club to take action even though they had decided to persist with the manager in the wake of their FA Cup final victory over Manchester City in May 2024.
Ten Hag then took a break from football before accepting his next job in May 2025, when he was named the new head coach of Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen to replace Xabi Alonso, who left for Real Madrid.
Why did Man United sack Erik ten Hag?
United decided to sack Ten Hag due to poor results and performances in the early part of 2024/25, coupled with a deeply disappointing Premier League campaign the season before.
The Dutchman's job was left at serious risk after he led the Red Devils to an eighth-place finish in 2023/24, which, at the time, was their worst performance in a Premier League season. However, a 2-1 win over Man City in the FA Cup final secured a trophy and a place in the UEFA Europa League, which helped to convince those in charge to give Ten Hag a little longer.
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Although they explored possible replacements, United's decision-makers ultimately decided that Ten Hag deserved the opportunity to oversee the beginning of a new season. There was an understanding that United's debilitating injury list had been at the heart of a largely miserable 2023/24 and that, with a fully fit squad and new signings, Ten Hag could deliver the sort of results he managed in his first year in charge, when United reached two cup finals and finished third in the league.
However, despite spending approximately £200 million ($266m) in the transfer market, United's early weeks of 2024/25 were wretched. They won just four of their first 14 games in all competitions, and a 2-1 loss to West Ham, which left them 14th in the league standings, was considered the final straw.
When did Erik ten Hag join Bayer Leverkusen?
Ten Hag was appointed Bayer Leverkusen head coach on May 26, 2025, seven months after leaving United. He signed a contract that runs until June 30, 2027.
"With Erik ten Hag we have brought in an experienced coach with impressive success on the pitch. His six title wins at Ajax were exceptional," Leverkusen sporting managing director Simon Rolfes said. "With three league titles and two domestic cup wins he and Ajax dominated Dutch football from 2018 to 2022. And Erik demonstrated his quality as a coach with the ensuing success at Manchester United under difficult circumstances at times.
"Our ideas of football coincide. With technically demanding and dominant football, we want to carry on in the Werkself style and aim for the highest targets in the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and Champions League."
Ten Hag described Leverkusen as "one of the best clubs in Germany and also among the top clubs in Europe", adding: "The club offers outstanding conditions, I've been very impressed with the discussions of the management.
"I've come to Leverkusen to continue with the ambition shown in recent years. It's an attractive challenge to set up something together in this period of change and develop an ambitious team."
Erik ten Hag age
Ten Hag was born on February 2, 1970 in Haaksbergen, a town in the east of the Netherlands. That makes him 55 years old as of August, 2025.