Erik ten Hag was fired as manager of Manchester United due to the team’s dismal start to the season.
Ten Hag’s last game was a 2-1 loss to West Ham on Sunday, which dropped the team to 14th place in the Premier League with just three victories from their first nine games.
After drawing their first three games, United is currently ranked 21st out of 36 clubs in the Europa League standings.
The club has appointed Ruud van Nistelrooy, who came as Ten Hag’s assistant last summer, as interim manager.
Van Nistelrooy will be in charge “while a permanent head coach is recruited,” according to the club.
Ten Hag was notified of the decision by the club’s board on Monday morning, and club insiders have emphasized that it was a unanimous but challenging choice.
After United defeated Manchester City in the FA Cup final in May, the club extended Ten Hag’s contract for another year. However, he was fired less than three months later for leading United to their second-worst Premier League start.
Since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013, United is now looking for their sixth permanent manager.
Ten Hag, a 54-year-old former Ajax manager, took over in the summer of 2022 and guided the team to third place in the Premier League during his debut season.
In the 2023 Carabao Cup final, he led United to their first trophy in six seasons with a 2-0 victory over Newcastle United. He also finished second in the FA Cup final, losing 2-1 to Manchester City.
United finished last in their Champions League group in the fall of his second season as manager, but they did win a trophy when they defeated Manchester City in the FA Cup final.
In February, British businessman Ratcliffe told BBC Sport that the club’s issues went well beyond the manager’s job.
“In the past 11 years, Manchester United have had a lot of coaches and nobody has been successful in that environment,” Ratcliffe stated. “That says to me there is something wrong with the environment.”
However, a dismal start to the season—United has only won one of their last eight games across all competitions—has compelled the board to take action.
Ineos took over Old Trafford’s football operations when Ratcliffe’s interest in the team was confirmed at the beginning of the year. They promptly started a reorganization, appointing Dan Ashworth as sports director, Omar Berrada as the new CEO, and Jason Wilcox as technical director.
Ten Hag was given the chance to work under a new sporting system as a result of United’s surprising FA Cup victory last season, but his performances and results from that season have not been good enough for this one.
The club’s leadership wanted stability during a period of major change, but they haven’t seen the momentum and advancement they were hoping for, and sources emphasize that there are no justifications for the current state of affairs.
