Manchester United have today announced that Erik ten Hag has been relieved of his managerial duties following two-and-a-half years at the club.
It’ll come as no surprise to anyone, really, given just how torrid the situation has been at Old Trafford over the past year. Aside from the FA Cup triumph in May, the side’s Premier League form has been record-breakingly dire with each passing gameweek.
Yet, Sunday’s loss to West Ham was the final nail in the coffin for club executives. A 2-1 defeat, albeit a controversial one due to the injury-time penalty antics, was enough for INEOS to finally decide to cut ties – arguably four months too late.
As such, Ten Hag was informed this morning that he’d be leaving with immediate effect, with assistant coach Ruud van Nistelrooy taking his place on an interim basis.
Xavi drops eyebrow-raising hint after INEOS approach
Fans have been left scratching their heads over which manager will be targeted to permanently succeed the Dutchman, especially since Thomas Tuchel, who held talks with INEOS over the summer, has since taken the England job.
It was confirmed last week that CEO Omar Berrada fronted a four-man delegation that flew to Barcelona amidst reports that United had contacted Xavi Hernandez on a number of occasions in recent months. Given the short turnaround between his trip to Spain and today’s news, speculation will be rife over the prospect of the Barcelona legend taking the reins.
His wife is also prepared to feed into the rumours, too, as she shared a snap on Instagram over the weekend of Xavi – previously hailed as a ‘great coach’ by compatriot Jose Bordalas – alongside his son, Dan, who was wearing United’s 2023/2024 home shirt.
Xavi with his son wearing a #mufc jersey earlier today 👀 pic.twitter.com/bxvxvxEIbn
— centredevils. (@centredevils) October 27, 2024
The former midfielder departed his beloved Blaugrana upon the culmination of last season. He led the club to La Liga glory in 2022/2023 and won the Spanish Super Cup.
That was curious, wasn’t it? But for all we know, Xavi’s houshold has jerseys for all major clubs and wears them in rotation.
At the end of last season, when drawing up a list of potential new managers should Ten Hag be sacked, Xavi didn’t make my top 5. Then again, he’s not a manager I’ve studied in any detail. Besides, I’m just a couch potato with an opinion, so you should all probably trust the club’s decision over anything I think.
It could have been ‘match over’ by half-time against West Ham, but maybe what finally decided INEOS was the second-half drop off: West Ham improved in spirit and performance and the Reds couldn’t respond.
But just imagine if our next Manager succeeds and the glory-days return: Michael Oliver will then have to live with his part in Ten Hag’s departure. #Snicker#