Erik ten Hag has opened up about his turbulent time in charge of Manchester United, revealing he felt betrayed by Cristiano Ronaldo and alleging the club broke promises made during contract talks.
It has been two years since the Dutch coach, 56, was dismissed months after winning the FA Cup and signing a contract extension. His reign featured notable triumphs, including a Carabao Cup victory in 2023, alongside severe setbacks such as a humiliating 7-0 loss to Liverpool. By the time he was relieved of his duties in October 2024, United languished in 14th place following a defeat to West Ham.
Fallout with Ronaldo
Ten Hag didn't mince his words as he looked back on his broken relationship with Ronaldo, stating he felt betrayed by the club legend even prior to his explosive interview with Piers Morgan, which came before his exit by mutual consent.
Ten Hag said: "He let the team down, and he let me down, because we planned with him. 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 challenged Ronaldo over his work ethic, claiming the Portuguese star regularly withdrew from training sessions. He added: "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. 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."
'Toxic environment' and transfer regrets
Ten Hag believes the former 'Real Madrid connection' fostered a damaging culture that he feels continues to permeate the current squad, even after their departures. Alongside Ronaldo, he also managed Casemiro and Raphael Varane at Old Trafford.
He said: "I can say I think that's what the Madrid connection brought in, that players are powerful and they want to decide. In my opinion, it didn't suit the phase United was in. The leadership wanted attacking, dynamic football and these players wanted to play what fitted themselves."
Ten Hag also accused the club of failing to take a sufficiently firm stance on two other players with whom he had disputes, Rashford and Jadon Sancho. He said: "And so, they [the club] are continuing the toxic culture, they fuel it, they give the power to the players. Rashford is an amazing player, if his mindset is right. I always showed my trust in him, played him. But when you show these standards, sometimes you have to make corrections."
Ten Hag's time in charge could have unfolded differently had he secured two key transfer targets, Declan Rice and Harry Kane, prior to their respective moves to Arsenal and Bayern Munich. On the subject of Rice, West Ham were reluctant to sell at the time, yet Ten Hag believes United could have pushed the Hammers harder, stating: "The issue was that West Ham didn't want to let him go. I think we could have done more to test [them]."
Missing out on Kane proved to be a more significant setback. He said: "I said to them [the club], 'I want only one player,' and you know who [Kane]. I fought for it. I heard that he was very positive [about joining United], but I never spoke with him about the issue. I don't know how the decision process went with John [Murtough, then football director], Richard [Arnold, then chief executive], the Glazers. They came to the conclusion. I don't have the insights in the financials. I think a club like United, you need these profiles to be successful. Personality, and they are mature, and they're accountable. We signed five, six players, young, high potentials. But they are not the finished product. They need guidance from good professionals, like Kane, Rice and Bruno [Fernandes]."
'Broken promises' and Antony signing
Ten Hag claimed he received assurances that weren't honoured during talks over his new contract with the club in the summer of 2024, including the transfer of Scott McTominay to Napoli without his approval. He said: "They promised me loyalty, they promised me backing, they promised communication, that we get aligned. We spoke about the issues. But the promises, they didn't keep. I said, 'No selling Scott McTominay.' And in the end they sold him. I got, of course, very embarrassed and disappointed."
The biggest transfer misstep of his reign was Antony, who cost the club £84million. Ten Hag, who previously managed the Brazilian at Ajax, maintained that circumstances forced that transfer after Sancho 'refused' to play on the right wing. He said: "There came up a problem because Sancho didn't want to play on the right side. He said that, which was very weird."
Ten Hag insisted Antony was put forward to him by the club's scouting network. He added: "I see on performances and profiles what is needed for the game. Not on emotion, if I like a player or dislike a player, or if I trained him before, or if I bought him or the club bought him, no, I can be acting very professional, I would say."
Ten Hag says United were lagging in data collection when he first arrived. Having depended on it at Ajax, he offered his knowledge to the process, only for it to be turned down. He said: "I offered my knowledge and abilities to INEOS to help them to construct, but they were of the opinion that they knew already everything. They were convinced of, say, the philosophy, the strategy, the work methods. But they came from petrochemicals, from Formula 1, from cycling. Top football demands something totally different."
