Last week, Lucas Vazquez completed his move to Bayer Leverkusen, after leaving Real Madrid as a free agent earlier in the summer. He was brought in by head coach Erik ten Hag, even though the former Manchester United manager was sacked just days later – despite having only been in charge since July.
Ten Hag arrived at Leverkusen to succeed Xabi Alonso, who took over from Carlo Ancelotti as head coach of Real Madrid at the beginning of June. But his tenure at the BayArena lasted only three games, two of them in the Bundesliga.
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Ten Hag was sacked because he took Leverkusen “in the wrong direction”, according to sporting director Simon Rolfes. And according to Bild (via MD), Lucas’ arrival is said to have been the final straw for the Dutch manager’s career there.
Lucas was signed without Ten Hag’s approval or consent
According to the report from Germany, Lucas was signed behind the back of Ten Hag, who did not find out that the former Real Madrid right-back would become part of his squad until the medical tests were completed.
That is why this was seen as the last straw for Ten Hag, as his relationship with Leverkusen is said to have been irreparable after that point. He was therefore dismissed the following Monday, after the draw against Werder Bremen at the weekend.
Lucas, who has yet to sign for his new team, is hoping for a successful spell at Leverkusen, after many fantastic years as a Real Madrid player. But his time in Germany has not started in the best way, and he hopes that the next head coach will be able to help the 2023-24 Bundesliga winners get back on track – and put the Ten Hag episode behind him as soon as possible.
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