Bayer Leverkusen has parted ways with Dutch coach Erik ten Hag after barely two months of his stint with the club.

Management of the club confirmed his dismissal early today, Monday, September 1, in a statement on its official website and social media handles.

The statement, which included comments from the CEO and the Managing Director for sports, mentioned the discomfort relating to their parting due to the short term the Dutchman has with them.

"Bayer 04 has parted ways with head coach Erik ten Hag with immediate effect. The assistant coaching staff will temporarily take over training duties", parts of the statement read.

It continued with remarks from the CEO, Fernando Carro, who stated that,

“A separation at this early stage of the season is painful, but from our perspective, it was necessary. Our goal remains to achieve the set season objectives – for that, we need the best possible conditions at all levels and across the entire licensed division. Now the focus is on fully reinstating and utilizing these conditions.”

Also, Bayer Leverkusen's Managing Director for Sport, Simon Rolfes, highlighted that the team have had to make this decision for the general good of the team, citing the club's performance over the last few weeks.

“This decision was not easy for us. No one wanted to take this step. However, the past few weeks have shown that building a new and successful team with this lineup cannot be done effectively. We firmly believe in the quality of our team and will now do everything possible to take the next steps in development with a new configuration.”

In an interesting turn of events, before the club announced Ten Hag's dismissal, they shared a teaser on their (X) handle, formerly Twitter, which stirred speculations concerning Ten Hag's dismissal.

They shared a picture of a teapot placed alongside a half-filled glass of tea and a tea leaf with a caption "We've got some tea to spill". This stirred reactions from netizens, with many suggesting that it was a hint of Ten Hag's imminent dismissal.

Meanwhile, while some have criticised the club for being unfair to the Dutchman, others have also commended them for the decision.

Many believe, just as the club's management mentioned in their statement, that they believe in the capacity of their team. The team with which the former coach Xavi Alonso attained success.

Under former Liverpool midfielder Alonso, Leverkusen won a league and cup double in 2023-24.

They finished second in the Bundesliga this season, 13 points behind champions Bayern Munich.

Ten Hag's record at Bayern Leverkusen

Ten Hag had a promising start when he began his term at Bayern with a dominant 4-0 win against Sonnenhof Großaspach in the DFB-Pokal (Cup) which was played on August 10.

However, thirteen days after his triumph, his side suffered a 1-2 loss against Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga MD1 clash.

In his final game, which appears to seal the club's decision to sack him, was the draw against Werder Bremen in Bundesliga MD2 on August 30.

Ten Hag's dismissal sets a record as one of the shortest managerial stints in Bundesliga history.

When Hag joined Leverkusen

On May 26, this year, the former Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag was named the new coach for German club Bayer Leverkusen in a two-year contract.

The club announced this in an official statement on Monday, May 26.

Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rolfes said, “With Erik ten Hag, we have brought in an experienced coach with impressive success on the pitch.

“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," he noted.

He continued that Erik ten Hag will officially start his new role on 1 July this year. In an acceptance speech, Ten Hag stated that Leverkusen are “one of the best clubs in Germany and also among the top clubs in Europe."

“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," he said.

Ten Hag took over from Spanish coach Xabi Alonso, who replaced Real Madrid's long-standing coach, Carlo Ancelotti.

Alonso was confirmed as the new boss of Spanish giants Real Madrid on Sunday, May 24.

This contract marks the Dutchman's first managerial role since his dismissal by Manchester United in October last year after a disappointing start to the season.

Despite winning the Carabao Cup and FA Cup during his two-year stint at Old Trafford, United struggled in the Premier League.

Sitting 14th on the Premier League table, Ten Hag was sacked after United’s 2-1 loss to West Ham, which left the club with just four wins from their opening 14 matches.

Before his appointment as United's head coach, the 55-year-old enjoyed a successful stint with Ajax in 2022.

A record of some of the shortest stints by coaches in football history

Meanwhile, having confirmed Ten Hag's dismissal as one of the shortest in Bundesliga history, there have been even shorter stints by coaches in football history.

In 2007, Torquay United appointed Leroy Rosenior as manager. In just 10 minutes, he was dismissed following an unexpected club takeover.

Marcelo Bielsa also resigned in 2026, just two days after signing at Lazio, over the club's failure to deliver on promised transfer targets.

Fast forward to 2021, and Gennaro Gattuso found himself in a similar predicament at Fiorentina. Appointed with high hopes, Gattuso parted ways with the club after 22 days, citing irreconcilable differences over transfer strategy after overseeing just a match.

Sam Allardyce led the England team and resigned after just sixty-seven days. During that time, he had a win over Slovakia.

Finally, Fabio Grosso, World Cup-winning hero turned manager, endured a bruising spell at Brescia in 2019. His tenure lasted three matches, all of which ended in defeat. The club wasted no time in pulling the plug, making Grosso one of the shortest-serving managers in Serie A history.