Raúl González Linked with replacing Erik ten Hag at Bayer Leverkusen

Erik ten Hag was sacked after just two Bundesliga matches in charge of Bayer Leverkusen.

Former Real Madrid Castilla manager Raúl is reportedly one of the favorites to take over Bayer Leverkusen following Erik ten Hag’s dismissal.

Bayer Leverkusen gave Xabi Alonso a sendoff fitting for a club legend at the end of last season.

The Spaniard, who led the German outfit to their first-ever Bundesliga title in 2023–24, left to replace Carlo Ancelotti at Real Madrid.

In need of a new manager, Bayer Leverkusen locked down Ten Hag with a two-year contract ahead of the 2025–26 season.

Except the former Manchester United boss only lasted three competitive games in charge before the club sacked him on Sept. 1 after a string of poor results in both preseason and the Bundesliga.

Bayer Leverkusen are now once again in the market for a true successor to Alonso and seemingly have their sights set on another Real Madrid legend.

According to Mundo Deportivo, Raúl is a top candidate to take over the German outfit.

The 48-year-old stepped down from Real Madrid Castilla once the 2024–25 season ended and has been without a new position since.

Any hopes Raúl had of becoming the first-team’s manager were dashed when the club appointed Alonso.

Still, Raúl impressed at the reserve team, where he spent the last six seasons in charge.

The Spaniard helped develop Real Madrid’s young talent, including FIFA Club World Cup breakout star Gonzalo García.

The report claims Marco Rose and Edin Terzić are also in the running for the Bayer Leverkusen job, which gives Raúl some competition for the position should he want it.

After all, he is the only candidate out of the three that has no experience managing a team in one of Europe’s top five leagues.

Bayer Leverkusen would be taking a gamble hiring Los Blancos’ third all-time leading goalscorer, but the last risk they took with a former Real Madrid player paid off.