Former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has criticised Cristiano Ronaldo, saying the forward "let the team down" by failing to prepare properly for matches during their time together at Old Trafford.
Ronaldo returned to Manchester United for a second spell in the summer of 2021, a year before Ten Hag was appointed as manager. The Portugal international played just 16 times under Ten Hag, with the relationship between the two never truly developing.
Training and preparation clashes
In a Q&A with The Athletic, Ten Hag revealed how he often clashed with Ronaldo over match preparation. Ronaldo did not fully take part in training or punishments, only running two of the required three laps after Ten Hag forced his players to run 13.8km following a defeat to Brentford where the side was outrun by the same distance.
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."
He added: "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."
Ronaldo's influence and exit
Ten Hag also stated that Ronaldo attempted to convince teammates to share his mindset, implying that training sessions were draining the team in matches. The Dutchman explained: "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."
Ronaldo's response at the time eventually led to his contract at Old Trafford being terminated ahead of the World Cup in Qatar, with the former Real Madrid forward leaving Manchester United in November 2022. He had claimed he was "betrayed" by Ten Hag in an interview with Piers Morgan, also stating: "I don't have respect for him because he doesn't show respect for me."
Ten Hag dropped Ronaldo in October 2022 for Manchester United's clash against Chelsea following the attacker's refusal to come on as a substitute against Tottenham the game prior.
Similar dispute with national team
Ronaldo's falling out with Ten Hag shares similarities with his dispute with national team boss Jorge Jesus. The 41-year-old again claimed he felt betrayed after broken promises from his manager, walking out on the Portuguese national team.
However, in a statement released after the argument, Ronaldo acted far more contrite than he ever did during his spat with Ten Hag, asking to be punished by the Portuguese FA.
