Former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has accused Cristiano Ronaldo of letting both him and the team down during their time together at Old Trafford, citing concerns about the forward’s fitness, training habits and preparation.
In an exclusive interview with The Athletic on Tuesday, the Dutchman said he had made plans for Ronaldo before joining United and had travelled to Portugal to discuss his ambitions with the former Real Madrid and Juventus striker.
Ten Hag said: “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.
“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.”
The former United boss alleged that Ronaldo struggled to meet the team’s fitness and training demands, claiming the forward sometimes withdrew from sessions, failed to reach the required heart-rate levels and completed only two of three laps during a running punishment following the club’s 4-0 defeat to Brentford in August 2022.
Ten Hag said he confronted the Portugal international about his preparation and ability to contribute to the team’s attacking play.
Ten Hag said: “I confronted him with this.
“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.”
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Ten Hag further claimed that Ronaldo was not contributing sufficiently during phases of possession or when the team was without the ball, attributing the problem to what he considered inadequate preparation.
He said Ronaldo “ran neither in possession nor out of possession” because “he didn’t prepare himself”.
The Dutchman also recalled Ronaldo encouraging teammates to conserve energy during training, a mindset he believed was incompatible with the fitness standards required at the highest level.
“Ronaldo was telling the players: save your legs at training,” Ten Hag said.
He added: “I understand it when you are top fit, but first you have to train yourself to get into the right fitness levels.”
Ten Hag maintained that while leading players deserved support from their clubs and managers, they also had a responsibility to work for the collective good of the team.
“Every top team has to embrace the top player, but the top player has to work for the team,” he said.
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