Former Manchester United head coach Erik Ten Hag revealed that Cristiano Ronaldo let the team down during his second stint with the club. The Dutchman said the Portuguese didn’t put his all in the training sessions and thus he wasn’t able to do enough pressing on the pitch.
Ten Hag took over at Old Trafford in 2022 and was dismissed in 2024. Ronaldo, on the other hand, joined United in 2021 but he criticised the club’s hierarchy and management, leading to a mutual termination of his contract. Later, he joined Saudi Pro League team Al-Nassr.
Erik Ten Hag said in an interview with the Athletic, “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,” Ten Hag said.
“Obviously, he’s one of the best in football history. I respected him a lot. But at that time, as a manager, I had to make a rational decision and keep the players I admire in.”
Ten Hag added: “I confronted him […] 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.
“It’s the wrong idea to put this to me that I expected him to do the pressing, that he’s exhausted. But he couldn’t. He ran neither in possession nor out of possession. The reason was because he didn’t prepare himself.
“Every top team has to embrace the top player, but the top player has to work for the team.
“He was telling the players, ‘Save your legs at the training.’ I understand it when you are top fit; you have sessions, you can save the legs. But first you have to train yourself to get into the right fitness levels.”
Ten Hag also said that he felt United wasn’t the highest priority for some players.
