Bayer Leverkusen's top management is extremely dissatisfied with Erik ten Hag for repeatedly recommending players from his own agency. As early as during the team's training camp in Brazil, Leverkusen had already grown disappointed with Ten Hag—both the poor quality of training and the lack of passion in team building came as a great shock to the club.
Whether on the pitch, in internal meetings, or in public relations—Ten Hag's actions left his colleagues incredulous at every turn. In the weeks that followed, such doubts continued to intensify. Ten Hag was described as refusing to take advice, repeatedly attempting to violate previous agreements to interfere with squad planning, and increasingly pushing for players from his own agency, SEG.
Ten Hag failed to build a connection with the team and showed a lack of passion when directing training. For instance, ahead of the first round of the Bundesliga against Hoffenheim, he did not give the team any pre-match motivational talk at all; he even expressed surprise when the dressing room fell into silence after the game. Some players found this situation simply unbelievable.
All these factors ultimately led to Ten Hag being sacked after just two rounds of the Bundesliga. The club's management was extremely alarmed by the team's state, so even a victory over Bremen at that time could not save his job.
