Following a dismal start to the new season, Manchester United has stated that manager Erik ten Hag has “left his role” in the organization.
In April 2022, the Dutchman took over as manager of the English Premier League powerhouse, and during his tenure, the team won two trophies: the FA Cup in 2024 and the Carabao Cup in 2023.
However, his tenure has also been marked by several humiliating losses, and the manager has been under criticism from the team’s performances over the past two seasons.
West Ham defeated United 2-1 on Sunday, dropping United to 14th place in the league.
In its statement on Monday, the club also said, “We wish Erik well for the future and are grateful for everything he has done during his time with us.”
Former Red Devils player Ruud van Nistelrooy, who was brought in to be ten Hag’s assistant this season, will take over as interim manager until a “permanent head coach is recruited.”
Biography of Erick Teng Hag
Born on February 2, 1970, Erik ten Hag is a Dutch professional football manager and former player who most recently managed Manchester United of the Premier League. Ten Hag started his career as a center-back with Twente of the Eredivisie, joined De Graafschap in 1990, and won the Eerste Divisie in his first season. He then returned to Twente in 1992 and moved to RKC Waalwijk two years later, where he stayed for one season before joining Utrecht in 1995. Ten Hag made his third stint back at Twente in 1996, where he won the KNVB Cup in 2001. Ten Hag retired from playing in 2002 at the age of 32.
Ten Hag took over as manager of Go Ahead Eagles in 2012, and in his first season there, he guided the team to promotion to the Eredivisie. After that, he joined Bayern Munich II in 2013, and in 2014, he was promoted to the Regionalliga Bayern. In 2015, he came back to the Netherlands to work as Utrecht’s sporting director and head coach. After joining Ajax in 2018, he guided the team to the UEFA Champions League semi-finals and won three Eredivisie titles and two KNVB Cups. He was hired as Manchester United’s manager in 2022. United won the FA Cup and the EFL Cup while he was a member of the team. In 2024, United fired him after a run of subpar performances.
Childhood and playing career
On February 2, 1970, Erik ten Hag was born in the Dutch city of Haaksbergen, Overijssel. Ten Hag mainly played center back for RKC Waalwijk, Twente, De Graafschap, and Utrecht. He captained the team that won the KNVB Cup in the 2000–01 season during his three tenure with Twente. In the 1990–91 season, 10 years prior to winning the cup with Twente, he had won the Eerste Divisie with De Graafschap. Following the conclusion of the 2001–02 Eredivisie season, he played for Twente before retiring from active play in 2002 at the age of 32.
Managerial career
Early professional life
After retiring, Ten Hag began coaching at Twente’s academy, first managing the U17 squad and then the U19 squad until 2006, when he was elevated to assistant manager. Up until 2009, he was employed by Fred Rutten and then Steve McClaren. After that, he joined PSV and again worked as an assistant to Rutten.
On April 18, 2012, it was revealed that Ten Hag would take over as manager of the Go Ahead Eagles of the Eerste Divisie on a two-year deal, beginning with the 2012–13 campaign. He guided the Go Ahead Eagles to their first promotion in 17 years during his one and only season there.
On June 27, 2013, Ten Hag was given a two-year deal to lead Bayern Munich II. He was in office until 2015, when Heiko Vogel took over. Ten Hag guided his squad to the Regionalliga Bayern championship while serving as manager.
On April 22, 2015, Eredivisie team Utrecht declared that Ten Hag will take over as head coach and sporting director of the team on a two-year deal that would begin on July 1. He guided the team to the 2016 KNVB Cup final in his debut season, where they lost to Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s Feyenoord 2-1. They advanced to the playoffs for a UEFA Europa League spot after finishing fifth in the league, but they lost to Heracles Almelo 3-1 overall. After finishing in fourth place the previous season, Utrecht qualified for the playoffs once more and defeated AZ on penalties to earn a spot in Europe. When Ten Hag left at the halfway point of the 2017–18 Eredivisie season, Utrecht was in sixth place.
Ajax
Early seasons, European semifinals, 2017–2020
Following Ajax’s dismissal of Marcel Keizer, Ten Hag was named head coach on December 28, 2017, and he began his two-and-a-half-year deal on January 1, 2018. He committed till June 2020. He joined a squad that had already lost in the Champions League and Europa League qualification stages, as well as the domestic cup. He made his debut on January 21, 2018, defeating Feyenoord 2-0 at home in the De Klassieker.
For the first time since 1997, Ten Hag guided the team to the UEFA Champions League semi-finals by defeating reigning champion Real Madrid 4-1 at the Santiago Bernabéu in the round of 16 stage and defeating Juventus 1–2 on the road after a 1–1 draw at home in the quarterfinals. He led his team to a 1-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in the opening leg of the semi-final at the newly finished Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. However, Tottenham Hotspur defeated Ajax in the second leg thanks to a hat-trick from Lucas Moura in the second half, with the final goal coming in the 96th minute to make it 3–2 (3–3 overall).
On May 5, 2019, he defeated Willem II in the 2018–19 KNVB Cup final to win his first managerial trophy with Ajax. Ten days later, Ajax completed a double by defeating De Graafschap 1–4 on the road to win the Eredivisie as well. Ten Hag agreed to a new deal through 2022 at the completion of the current campaign.
In the 2019 Johan Cruyff Shield, Ajax defeated PSV 2-0 to start the 2019–20 campaign. In their first 16 games of the 2019–20 Eredivisie season, Ajax won 14 and drew two. This was followed by consecutive losses against AZ and Willem II. After these losses, Ajax’s performance shook; they lost three more games in their next eight games and suffered their second league loss of the year against AZ. There would not be an official winner of the 2019–20 Eredivisie season, even though Ajax led AZ on goal differential, because the season was declared null and invalid owing to the global COVID-19 epidemic. After finishing third in their group in the 2019–20 Champions League and being demoted to the UEFA Europa League, Ajax’s European campaign was comparatively less successful than the one before. Getafe eliminated Ajax in the Round of 32 of the 2019–20 Europa League following a 3–2 aggregate loss.
2020–2022: Consecutive league titles
Ajax won their first three games of the 2020–21 season before suffering a 1-0 loss at Groningen, which turned out to be one of Ten Hag’s team’s two league losses during the season. Ten Hag led Ajax to a remarkable 13–0 victory over VVV-Venlo on October 24, 2020, shattering the Eredivisie record for the largest victory in the competition’s history. The team lost to Roma 3–2 on aggregate in the Europa League quarterfinals. Ten Hag led Ajax to their record-breaking 20th KNVB Cup on April 18, 2021, defeating Vitesse 2-1 in the championship match. Ten Hag’s contract at Ajax was extended two weeks later, through the conclusion of the 2022–2023 campaign.
After losing to PSV 4-0 in the Johan Cruyff Shield to start the 2021–22 season, Ajax went undefeated for the first seven league games before losing to Utrecht 1-0 at home. Ajax won the league title with a 5–0 victory over PSV at home on October 24, 2021, and this was one of their three league losses during the season. In 2021–2022, Ajax won every one of their six group games in the UEFA Champions League. On January 16, 2022, Ten Hag’s Ajax defeated Utrecht 3-0 on the road on match day 19, making him the league’s fastest manager to reach 100 victories in 128 games.
After defeating Heerenveen 5–0 at home on May 11, 2022, Ajax won their third Eredivisie title in four years, however they were ultimately eliminated by Benfica in the round of 16. Additionally, Ten Hag’s team advanced to the 2022 KNVB Cup Final, where they lost to PSV 2-1.
Manchester United
en Hag was hired on April 21, 2022, to manage Manchester United from the conclusion of the 2021–2022 campaign through June 2025, with the possibility of a one-year extension. Ten Hag added Steve McClaren and Mitchell van der Gaag to his coaching team. Ten Hag’s early departure from Ajax to start preparing to become Manchester United’s manager for the 2022–2023 campaign was confirmed on May 16.
2022–23: Top four finish and EFL Cup win
On August 7, Ten Hag suffered a 2-1 home loss to Brighton & Hove Albion in his debut Premier League game. Ten Hag became the first Manchester United manager since John Chapman in 1921 to lose his first two games in command after the team’s 4–0 loss against Brentford on August 13 in his second Premier League game. Ten Hag’s first competitive match as manager of Manchester United came on August 22, when his team defeated bitter rivals Liverpool 2-1 at Old Trafford. United had not defeated Liverpool in the league since March 2018. Ten Hag became the quickest Manchester United manager to reach 20 competitive victories, accomplishing the record in 27 games on January 11, 2023, when he guided the team to a 3-0 victory over Charlton Athletic in the EFL Cup . Ten Hag’s team won the EFL Cup on February 26 after defeating Newcastle United 2-0, their first trophy since 2017. However, Ten Hag’s team suffered a record-breaking 7-0 loss at Anfield, home of bitter rivals Liverpool, in their first league match following the trophy’s lifting. In addition to being United’s joint-heaviest loss ever, it was the most crushing loss in the history of that match and the first time they had given up seven goals since 1931
Ten Hag’s first season at the club also saw Manchester United finish third in the Premier League’s top four, earning them a spot in the 2023 UEFA Champions League. The team advanced to the 2023 FA Cup final before falling to local rivals Manchester City 2-1.
2023–24: Struggles and FA Cup triumph
On August 14, Manchester United defeated Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0 in the Premier League to start the 2023–24 campaign. Newcastle United, whom Manchester United defeated in the previous season’s final, defeated them 3-0 at home on November 1st, sending United out of the EFL Cup in the fourth round. Ten Hag received the November Premier League Manager of the Month award. After losing 1-0 against Bayern Munich on December 12, Manchester United was eliminated from the Champions League. With four points and a bottom group finish, they would not be able to play in Europe for the remainder of the season. Manchester United defeated Brighton 2-0 to end the Premier League season in eighth place with 60 points, their lowest standing in the top division since the 1989–90 season.
When Manchester United defeated Manchester City in the FA Cup final on May 25, 2024, Ten Hag won the team’s second major prize and guaranteed a position in the 2024–2025 UEFA Europa League.
2024–25: Dip in performances and dismissal
In order to keep Ten Hag with the team until 2026, Manchester United activated a one-year contract extension on July 4, 2024. Mitchell van der Gaag resigned as assistant manager, and former Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy and René Hake took over. Additionally, coach Steve McClaren left his position at United to become manager of Jamaica.
Manchester United lost 7–6 on penalties against Manchester City in the 2024 FA Community Shield to open the 2024–25 season, leaving the score at 1-1 at the end of regulation. After failing to defeat Porto in the Europa League and Aston Villa in the Premier League in the same week, and with United in 14th place with eight points from seven games—the team’s worst league start since 1989–90—the BBC questioned whether Ten Hag’s dismissal was justified due to the team’s subpar performances on October 6, 2024.
Ten Hag was fired from his position as Manchester United’s head coach on October 28, 2024. This followed a run of disappointing performances, including a Europa League draw against Fenerbahçe and a league loss to West Ham United, which was decided by a contentious penalty kick from Jarrod Bowen in extra time, of 2-1. With 11 points from nine games and three points from three games in the Europa League, Manchester United was now in 14th place in the Premier League as a result of these results. Ten Hag was replaced as interim manager by Van Nistelrooy.
Individual life
Ten Hag and his wife, Bianca, have two daughters and a son
Net Worth
Ten Hag is now the Premier League’s third-highest paid manager. The Dutchman, who earns £9 million annually, is reportedly on the verge of having his pay reduced due to United’s inability to qualify for the Champions League. He is ranked just behind Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola.
Given his family’s enormous riches, Ten Hag’s financial position may not be significantly impacted even if United hits him hard. Returning to the Netherlands, the Ten Hags are among the wealthiest family there, with an estimated net worth of the millions.
Erik ten Hag at Hale Village, Cheshire’s Piccolino Restaurant with family and friends (Photo: James Clarke and Eamonn)
Their fortune came from Hennie, Erik’s father, who founded a successful real estate business in 1967. The company is currently operated by Erik’s two siblings, Michel and Rico, and they also own a number of other financial enterprises.
It has been identified as the largest real estate firm in the eastern part of the Netherlands. The name Ten Hag is so well-known that it is displayed on storefronts and apartment buildings in Haaksbergen, which is only two hours away by car from Amsterdam. Ten Hag had the odd reputation of living above a supermarket outside of Amsterdam before to his transformative transfer to United. He informed United that he didn’t want to live in a suitcase when he moved to Manchester and stay at the Lowry Hotel, where former manager Jose Mourinho famously spent his whole tenure as United’s manager.
