Manchester United have sacked manager Erik ten Hag after he was summoned to a morning meeting at Carrington and informed his time as boss was over.

The decision to axe the Dutchman after two-and-a-half years in charge came after Sunday’s defeat at West Ham left United in 14th place in the Premier League.

Ten Hag’s new No 2 Ruud van Nistelrooy will step in on an interim basis while the club look for a permanent replacement.

Former Barcelona boss Xavi Hernandez, Brentford manager Thomas Frank, Sporting Lisbon coach Ruben Amorim and ex-Borussia Dortmund boss Edin Terzic are believed to have been sounded out.

Ten Hag was in the dark over his fate until Monday morning, when he was called to meet with CEO Omar Berrada and sporting director Dan Ashworth. Sources say the meeting with ‘respectful and dignified’.

Ten Hag is still in Manchester and his car has been spotted at his home today. He recorded a final press conference after Sunday’s game at West Ham, ahead of Man United’s Carabao Cup tie against Leicester City on Wednesday – but this will now not be broadcast. Van Nistelrooy is not expected to speak until after the Leicester game.

Erik ten Hag has been sacked by Manchester United after a disappointing start to the season

Man United suffered their fourth league defeat of the season against West Ham on Sunday

Ex-Man United star Ruud van Nistelrooy (left) has taken over from Ten Hag on an interim basis

Ten Hag’s record at Manchester United across all competitions since his arrival in 2022

A club statement issued at 11.50am on Monday read: ‘Erik ten Hag has left his role as Manchester United men’s first-team manager.

‘Erik was appointed in April 2022 and led the club to two domestic trophies, winning the Carabao Cup in 2023 and the FA Cup in 2024.

‘We are grateful to Erik for everything he has done during his time with us and wish him well for the future.

‘Ruud van Nistelrooy will take charge of the team as interim head coach, supported by the current coaching team, whilst a permanent head coach is recruited.’

It’s understood that the decision by United’s leadership team was collective and unanimous, even though sources say it was ‘a difficult and finely balanced’ one.

Despite winning the Carabao Cup and FA Cup in his two seasons at Old Trafford, Ten Hag finished eighth in the Premier League last term with a negative goal difference.

He was given the chance to work within a new structure after Omar Berrada was appointed as chief executive in the summer alongside new sporting director Dan Ashworth and technical director Jason Wilcox.

Edin Terzic (left) and Thomas Frank (right) are among those linked with the permanent role

Manchester United CEO Omar Berrada will now be on the hunt for a new Red Devils boss

Ruben Amorim (left) and Xavi (right) have also been earmarked as contenders to replace him

However, results and performances did not improve as United won just three of their opening nine Premier League fixtures and also dropped to 21st in the Europa League without a victory in three games.

It’s believed that the United hierarchy wanted continuity after the period of change but did not see enough evidence of momentum or progress to convince them the team was on the right path.

The club believe they gave Ten Hag all the tools to succeed and sources say there were ‘no excuses’ for the poor start to the season that heaped more pressure on the 54-year-old Dutchman after he was given a reprieve after winning the Cup Final in May.

Ten Hag is set to pocket a significant compensation package of up to £15million after being axed by Ratcliffe and Ineos just three months into the new campaign.

Thomas Tuchel, who United considered in the summer before sticking by Ten Hag, has since been named Gareth Southgate’s successor by the Football Association and will take charge of England from January.

Sunday’s 2-1 defeat against West Ham proved the final straw for Manchester United’s chiefs, with the club now three wins, two draws and four losses from their opening nine games of the season.

Casemiro thought he had at least rescued a point at the London Stadium when he equalised in the 81st minute to cancel out Crysencio Summerville’s strike, but Jarrod Bowen‘s controversial stoppage-time penalty consigned Ten Hag to yet another disappointing defeat.

Significant pressure had mounted on Ten Hag ahead of the second international break of the season in October, prompting United to hold an executive meeting in London, led by Ratcliffe.

The senior leadership team opted to stick by the Dutchman, while also choosing to ‘sack’ legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson from his £2.61million ambassadorial role at the club.

Ten Hag was irate with the officials after a controversial late penalty was awarded to West Ham

Sir Jim Ratcliffe and United’s senior leaders met in London earlier this month to discuss Ten Hag’s future and decided to stick by the Dutchman despite a dismal start to the new season

Ten Hag joined the club in the summer of 2022 and has since won two trophies at Old Trafford — the Carabao Cup during his debut season and FA Cup at the close of last campaign.

However, United’s league form worsened significantly over the course of Ten Hag’s reign, with the club finishing eighth last season and currently languishing in the bottom half of the table so far this term.

Ten Hag had kept his job at the end of last season thanks to their FA Cup final win over Manchester City, despite leading the club to their lowest finish in the Premier League era and being knocked out of the group stage in the Champions League.

Ten Hag’s response to the latest speculation over his future had been to dismiss it as outside noise.

‘We are all on one page in this club,’ he said last week. ‘I told this before the break, several journalists probably didn’t believe me because I see the reports. Internal in the club, it’s quiet.

‘Of course, we are unhappy in the position where we are in and we have to turn the corner with a strategy to turn this corner.

‘But ultimately we are quiet, we are composed, we stay where we are, we stick to the plan and we are convinced we will make it a success.

‘(I’ve had) no assurances about my position. Noise is only coming from some of you (media), creating stories and fairytales, bringing lies.

‘We stick to the plan and are very convinced it will be a success.’

Ratcliffe had been non-committal over Ten Hag’s future in early October, insisting he did not have the final say over the Dutchman’s fate.

‘I don’t want to answer that question,’ he told the BBC when asked if he had faith in the manager.

Ten Hag was sacked after United lost four of their opening nine games in the Premier League

Van Nistelrooy will hope to make an instant impact with Man United languishing in 14th place

A familiar face to the Old Trafford faithful, Van Nistelrooy has serious coaching ambitions

‘I like Erik. I think he’s a very good coach but at the end of the day it’s not my call, it’s the management team that’s running Manchester United that have to decide how we best run the team in many different respects.’

‘That team that’s running Manchester United has only been together since June or July. They weren’t there in January, February, March or April – [CEO] Omar [Berrada], [Sporting Director] Dan Ashworth – they only arrived in July.

‘They’ve only been there… you can count it in weeks almost – they’ve not been there a long time so they need to take stock and make some sensible decisions.

‘Our objective is very clear – we want to take Manchester United back to where it should be, and it’s not there yet, obviously – that’s very clear.’

Prior to Sunday’s defeat by West Ham, Manchester United were held to a 1-1 draw against Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce in the Europa League.

Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Hojlund had inspired the Red Devils to a comeback victory over Brentford the weekend before, but the draw in Turkey hindered United from building momentum and subsequently led to the decisive defeat at West Ham.

United will be eager to find the right appointment to succeed Ten Hag after failing to win the Premier League title over the last 11 years.

United’s FA Cup victory was seen as the reason Ten Hag kept his job, despite guiding the Red Devils to their worst finish of the Premier League era and early elimination in Europe

Manchester United are still seeking the manager who can bring them back to their glory days following Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement from management at the end of the 2012-13 season

Matthijs de Ligt (left) and Joshua Zirkzee (right) are among those brought in by Manchester United over the summer transfer window, after the club initially backed the Dutch coach

Ten Hag joins David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick as managers who have failed to restore Manchester United to their trophy-laden years under Sir Alex Ferguson.

He leaves behind him a host of new signings, with United recruiting Joshua Zirkzee, Matthijs de Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui and Manuel Ugarte over the summer window.