Erik ten Hag criticizes Ronaldo: "He let the team and me down"

Former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag assessed the period he spent with Cristiano Ronaldo in an interview with The Athletic. The Dutch manager said Ronaldo let both the team and him down.

He let the team down and disappointed me because we had included him in our plans.

Erik ten Hag

Ten Hag said they had built their plans around Ronaldo and that he had great respect for him. He added that as a manager at that time he should have made a rational decision and kept the players he respected in the squad.

"United was not a priority for some"

According to Ten Hag, football and United were not the biggest priority for some players in the squad. He described this as a result of the Madrid connection brought by Casemiro, Varane and Ronaldo. Saying the players were strong and wanted to make decisions themselves, Ten Hag said the management wanted attacking, dynamic football, while these players wanted to play in a way that suited them.

Criticizing Ronaldo's attitude in training, Ten Hag recalled telling him: "Ronnie, everyone wants to work to get you into the right position, but if you can't get into the penalty area, you can't score." Ten Hag said Ronaldo could not do this, did not run with or without the ball, and that the reason was that he had not prepared himself.

Ten Hag also said every top team should accept the best player, but the best player must also work for the team.

The departure

Ten Hag managed Manchester United between 2022 and 2024. Ronaldo left the club at the end of 2022 and signed for Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia.