Manchester United have confirmed the appointment of current Ajax boss Erik ten Hag as their new manager from the start of next season.
Ajax boss ten Hag, 52, met with United bosses last month to talk about becoming their new manager and has now taken the role on a permanent basis, signing a contract until June 2025 with an option of a further year.
The Dutchman said: “It is a great honour to be appointed manager of Manchester United and I am hugely excited by the challenge ahead.
"I know the history of this great club and the passion of the fans, and I am absolutely determined to develop a team capable of delivering the success they deserve.
“It will be difficult to leave Ajax after these incredible years, and I can assure our fans of my complete commitment and focus on bringing this season to a successful conclusion before I move to Manchester United.”
Ten Hag’s most eye-catching managerial achievement to date was guiding the Dutch giants into the semi-finals of the Champions League in 2019, when they were seconds away from the final before Lucas Moura’s winner for Tottenham in the sixth minute of added time.
Ajax stunned Real Madrid and Juventus on that memorable European run – their first knockout tie victories in the Champions League since 1997.
Ten Hag was appointed Ajax boss in December 2017 and is on course to guiding the club to their third league title in his four full seasons at the helm, having ended their five-year wait for an Eredivisie crown in 2019. The coach also has won two KNVB Cups at the club and reached the Champions League Round of 16 this campaign – being edged out by Benfica after having won all six of their group stage games.
Ten Hag’s coaching career began in 2012, when he led Go Ahead Eagles to their first promotion in 17 years. He went on to coach Bayern Munich II – coinciding with Pep Guardiola’s spell in the dugout of the first-team at the German champions – for two seasons before accepting the role as head coach of FC Utrecht in 2015.
Having inherited a side who had finished 11th in the Eredivisie, ten Hag led the club to fifth and fourth place finishes respectively, booking their place in European competition before being appointed by Ajax midway through the 2017-18 campaign.
Paris Saint-Germain coach Mauricio Pochettino had also been in the frame for the post. Pochettino had initially been the favourite for the United job, as reported in February. Mirror Football later revealed that the Argentine was the preferred candidate among the players in United’s dressing room. Pochettino had also met with United officials, following on from the club’s talks with ten Hag – before the club settled on the Dutchman.
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Ten Hag will have a huge job on his hands at Old Trafford as he will inherit a side who have spent the 2021/22 campaign in freefall. Multiple players are out of contract at the club this summer including Juan Mata, Edinson Cavani, Paul Pogba, Nemanja Matic and Jesse Lingard. Multiple other players will be allowed to leave if suitable offers come in – with ten Hag likely to be given a say in the club’s recruitment process this summer.
Ten Hag will succeed interim coach Ralf Rangnick in the Old Trafford hotseat and will become the club’s fifth permanent manager since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013, following on from David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
