Erik ten Hag sacked by Bayer Leverkusen after just three games

The Dutchman, who succeeded Xabi Alonso this summer, leaves following a draw and a defeat in Leverkusen's opening two league fixtures.

Simon Rolfes, the club's managing director of sport, said: "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 setup is not feasible.

"We firmly believe in the quality of our team and will now do everything we can to take the next steps in our development with a new setup."

CEO Fernando Carro added: "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.

"Now it's a matter of fully implementing and utilising these conditions again."

The abrupt exit followed a 3-3 draw with Werder Bremen on Saturday.

Ten Hag's challenges were compounded by a summer of heavy departures. Players including Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong, Amine Adli, Odilon Kossounou and Granit Xhaka left the club, while Alonso moved to Real Madrid.

Ten Hag had admitted last weekend that losing key players "hurts." He said: "Letting good players leave always hurts. But we also have other good players and they then need to take on that task."

This marks the second time Ten Hag has been dismissed from a managerial role since leaving Manchester United in October 2024, leaving questions over his next move in European football.