Ten Hag Says Ronaldo Disappointed Him and Man United

Former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag said Cristiano Ronaldo let both the team and himself down during their time at Old Trafford.

In a chat with The Athletic on Tuesday, Ten Hag shared, “He let the team down, and he let me down, because we planned with him. I flew out to Portugal to speak with him about what I was aiming for before I came to United.”

He recognized Ronaldo as one of the best players in football history. Ten Hag said, “I respected him a lot. But at that time, as a manager, I had to make a rational decision.”

Ten Hag claimed Ronaldo had issues with fitness and preparation. He said the forward missed training sessions, did not meet the required heart-rate levels, and completed only two of three laps during a running punishment after United's 4-0 loss at Brentford in August 2022.

“I confronted him with this,” Ten Hag said. “Many times I say, ‘Ronnie, everyone wants to work for you to bring you in the right position, but if you can’t bring yourself in the box, you can’t score.’ He was not capable to do this.”

He mentioned that Ronaldo “ran neither in possession nor out of possession” because “he didn’t prepare himself.” Ten Hag said Ronaldo advised his teammates to “save your legs at the training.”

“Ronaldo was telling the players: save your legs at training.”

Ten Hag added, “I understand it when you are top fit, but first you have to train yourself to get into the right fitness levels.”

He concluded by saying, “Every top team has to embrace the top player, but the top player has to work for the team.”