Former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag said Cristiano Ronaldo “let the team and let me down” during the Dutchman’s spell at Old Trafford.
Portugal forward Ronaldo was in his second spell at United when Ten Hag took charge in the summer of 2022 but left in controversial circumstances a few months later.
“He let the team down, and he let me down, because we planned with him,” Ten Hag told The Athletic, external.
“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 and keep the players I admire in.”
Ten Hag had dropped Ronaldo for a Premier League game at Chelsea in October 2022 after he had refused to come on as a substitute against Tottenham three days earlier.
Ronaldo gave an interview in the November in which he said he felt “betrayed” by United, did not respect Ten Hag and was being forced out of the club prior to his departure being “mutually agreed”.
Ronaldo was 36 when he returned to Manchester United from Juventus in 2021, when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was manager.
Under Ten Hag, he scored just three goals in 16 outings before his exit during the 2022-23 campaign.
“It’s the wrong idea to put this to me that I expected him to do the pressing, that he’s exhausted,” added Ten Hag. “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.”
The publication of Ten Hag’s interview comes as Ronaldo has been given a 30-day suspension and fined 255 euros (£215) by the Portuguese Football Federation for leaving his country’s international camp last month.
Ten Hag was sacked by Manchester United in October 2024, having won the Carabao Cup in 2023 and FA Cup in 2024.
On his time at Old Trafford, Ten Hag added he wanted to sign Frenkie de Jong, Harry Kane and Declan Rice, and was against the sale of Scott McTominay to Napoli in August 2024.
“I said for the first season, ‘centre-half, there’s a problem, centre-midfield, there is a problem, and especially I need a strategist, then we need goals’. And that was the biggest issue in all my three years: goals,” said Ten Hag.