When Cristiano Ronaldo clashed with Erik ten Hag at Manchester United, the soccer world witnessed one of the most explosive manager-player fallouts of recent years. The Dutchman, known for his strict methods and demands for discipline, never managed to reconcile with the Portuguese star. But while the Ronaldo saga dominated headlines, a fresh twist unfolded in Germany—this time it wasn’t the Portuguese, but another former Real Madrid player whose arrival played a decisive role in Ten Hag’s downfall at Bayer Leverkusen.
After his turbulent tenure at Old Trafford, Ten Hag was handed a fresh start when he took over at Bayer Leverkusen in July, replacing Xabi Alonso, who had departed for Real Madrid. Expectations were high, considering Alonso had guided the club to their first-ever Bundesliga title in 2024 while going unbeaten.
But the optimism quickly faded. Ten Hag’s time at the BayArena lasted just 63 days and three competitive matches—a 4-0 win in the DFB-Pokal against Sonnenhof Grossaspach, followed by only one point from his first two Bundesliga games. By September, the Dutchman was sacked, setting a record for the shortest Bundesliga managerial reign. Sporting director Simon Rolfes bluntly stated that Ten Hag was dismissed because he was taking the team “in the wrong direction.”
Ten Hag’s challenge was never simple. He inherited a squad stripped of its spine—Florian Wirtz, Victor Boniface, Jeremie Frimpong, Jonathan Tah, Amine Adli, and Granit Xhaka all left in the summer, dismantling the structure Alonso had built. The task of rebuilding seemed daunting, yet Leverkusen expected instant results. With the Bundesliga campaign already slipping and the Champions League looming, tensions between management and Ten Hag rose rapidly.
The breaking point
The decisive blow, however, did not come from the touchline but from the boardroom. As reported by Bild, Leverkusen completed the signing of Lucas Vazquez, the long-serving Real Madrid utility man, without Ten Hag’s approval.
The Dutch manager was reportedly not informed of the move until Vazquez had already undergone medical tests. This left Ten Hag feeling undermined, and his fragile relationship with the club’s hierarchy became unsalvageable. According to the German outlet, the signing of the Spanish veteran was seen internally as “the final dagger” in the club’s trust toward its manager. Just days later, he was dismissed.
Echoes of old conflicts
The saga draws uncomfortable parallels to Ten Hag’s issues with Ronaldo at Manchester United. While the Portuguese superstar’s fallout was personal and public, in Germany, the conflict was institutional and rooted in a lack of communication and trust.
Ironically, Ten Hag once claimed that Ronaldo was “never the problem” at United, despite the bitter split. In Germany, though, it was another former Los Blancos star who inadvertently became the catalyst for his swift exit.
