Ten Hag Says Cristiano Ronaldo Let Him Down at Manchester United

• Erik ten Hag told The Athletic that Cristiano Ronaldo “let the team down” and “let me down” in their time together at Manchester United.
• Ten Hag said Ronaldo did not complete a full run set for players after a 4-0 defeat by Brentford, and that the forward told teammates to save their legs in training.
• The former United manager also said the club’s owners broke promises of loyalty and backing, and sold Scott McTominay to Napoli against his wishes.

Ten Hag Says Ronaldo Never Prepared Himself for the Work

Erik ten Hag has accused Cristiano Ronaldo of letting down Manchester United, and has added that the club’s owners broke the promises they made to him before he was sacked. “He let the team down, and he let me down,” the Dutchman said in an interview with The Athletic, published on Tuesday.

The comments arrive as Ronaldo has been handed a 30-day suspension and a fine of 255 euros (£215) by the Portuguese Football Federation for leaving his country’s international camp last month.

Ten Hag said he travelled to see the forward before taking the United job. “I flew out to Portugal to speak with him about what I was aiming for before I came to United,” he said. He was clear about the player’s standing. “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.”

The Run That Was Never Finished

Ronaldo was in his second spell at Old Trafford when Ten Hag took charge in the summer of 2022. Ten Hag was appointed in April of that year as the successor to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The relationship between manager and forward broke down quickly.

Ten Hag claimed Ronaldo did not complete the full run that players were set after United were beaten 4-0 by Brentford early in his reign. He said he raised it with the striker 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,” Ten Hag recalled telling him.

The manager rejected the suggestion that he expected too much pressing from the forward. “It’s the wrong idea to put this to me that I expected him to do the pressing, that he’s exhausted,” he said. His complaint was that Ronaldo gave little in any phase of play. “He ran neither in possession nor out of possession,” Ten Hag said, and he put that down to a lack of preparation by the player.

Ten Hag also described a message Ronaldo passed to teammates. “He was telling the players, ‘save your legs at the training’,” he said. He accepted that a fit player can rest in some sessions, but said the work has to come first. “But first you have to train yourself to get into the right fitness levels.”

His verdict on how stars and teams fit together was blunt. “Every top team has to embrace the top player, but the top player has to work for the team,” Ten Hag said.

How the Falling Out Ended

The split played out in public. In October 2022 Ronaldo refused to come on as a substitute in a win against Tottenham. Ten Hag dropped him for the next Premier League game, away at Chelsea, three days later. In November Ronaldo gave an interview in which he said he felt “betrayed” by the club, did not respect Ten Hag and was being forced out. His contract was mutually terminated that month. Under Ten Hag he scored three goals in 16 appearances.

Promises Ten Hag Says Were Not Kept

Ten Hag was sacked by United in October 2024, five months after he won the FA Cup and signed a contract extension. He had also won the Carabao Cup in 2023. He told The Athletic that the talks over his new deal brought assurances from the owners that were not honoured.

“They promised me loyalty, they promised me backing, they promised communication, that we get aligned,” he said. “We spoke about the issues. But the promises, they didn’t keep.”

The sale of Scott McTominay to Napoli in August 2024 was the example he gave. “I said: ‘No selling Scott McTominay.’ And in the end they sold him,” Ten Hag said. “I got, of course, very embarrassed and disappointed.”

He also named the players he wanted at the club: Frenkie de Jong, Harry Kane and Declan Rice. His first-season list of needs ran from a centre-half to a centre-midfielder and a “strategist”, and then goals. Scoring, he said, was the biggest issue across all three of his years at United: “goals”.

Where the Row Stands

Ten Hag left United in October 2024, and his account of his three years there is now on record. At its centre sit the owners’ broken promises on one side and Ronaldo’s work rate on the other. The Portuguese federation has dealt with Ronaldo over the walkout from national duty, and Ten Hag’s interview has followed it into the headlines.