Former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has accused Cristiano Ronaldo of letting both the club and himself down. Ten Hag made the claim in an exclusive interview with The Athletic on Tuesday.
“He let the team down, and he let me down, because we planned with him,” he said. Ten Hag added that he flew to Portugal to explain his vision to Ronaldo before taking the United job.
He still praised the forward’s status in the game. “Obviously, he’s one of the best in football history. I respected him a lot,” he said. “But at that time, as a manager, I had to make a rational decision.”
Ten Hag then listed his complaints about Ronaldo’s fitness and preparation. He alleged that the striker skipped training sessions and failed to hit the required heart-rate levels. He also claimed Ronaldo ran only two of three laps in a punishment run after United’s 4-0 loss at Brentford in August 2022.
The Dutchman said he raised these issues with the player directly. “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 recalled telling him. “He was not capable to do this.”
According to Ten Hag, Ronaldo did not run with or without the ball because he had not prepared himself. He also alleged that the forward urged teammates to “save your legs at training.”
Ten Hag said that approach only works for players who are already in peak condition. “First you have to train yourself to get into the right fitness levels,” he said.
He closed with a view on how top players should fit into a team. “Every top team has to embrace the top player, but the top player has to work for the team,” he said.
