I’m not leaving Manchester United anymore: Eric Ten Hag signed three more years contract with Man Utd till 2027
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Erik ten Hag Officially Agrees to 3-Year Contract as New Manchester United Manager
TIM DANIELS
Manchester United announced Thursday it has signed Ajax manager Erik ten Hag to a three-year contract to take over its coaching staff at the end of the 2021-22 campaign.
Ten Hag, who will remain with Ajax until season’s end, will be under contract through June 2025 with an option for an additional year.
“It is a great honor to be appointed manager of Manchester United, and I am hugely excited by the challenge ahead,” he said. “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.”
Ten Hag was a defender for multiple Dutch clubs during a playing career that spanned from 1989 to 2002. His first managerial job came in 2012 with then-Dutch second-tier side Go Ahead Eagles.
After leading Go Ahead to the Eredivisie, Ten Hag moved to Germany to coach Bayern Munich’s reserve side. He returned to the Netherlands in 2015 to manage Utrecht before taking over at Ajax in 2017.
He’s guided the Godenzonen to a pair of Eredivisie titles, and they sit atop the league table with five matches left in the current campaign. They are four points clear of PSV Eindhoven in the title chase.
Ten Hag said it was important to settle his future now so that he could focus his energy on the remainder of Ajax’s season, per ESPN’s Rob Dawson.
“But I only have one interest now, and that’s these last five games,” he said. “I want to finish my time here on a positive note, by winning the league. By doing so, we’ll qualify directly for the Champions League. Ajax belongs there.”
Once that challenge is complete, he will face the task of trying to deliver Manchester United its first Premier League title since the 2012-13 season.
The Red Devils have struggled to find a suitable replacement for the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson, who retired after their most recent title success. Ten Hag will become the club’s fifth full-time manager since Ferguson’s departure.
Sources told Dawson that Ten Hag provided a “compelling long-term vision” during his interview with the club.
United is sixth in the Premier League table with 54 points but still has a chance to earn a top-four spot and, with it, a UEFA Champions League berth. It must pass Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal (57 points each) to do so.