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Erik ten Hag has revealed that Cristiano Ronaldo’s actions strained their relationship, forcing him to make the tough decision to leave the Manchester United icon out of his plans.
Erik Ten Hag gives instructions to Manchester United’s Dutch midfielder Donny van de Beek (R), Cristiano Ronaldo (C) and Diogo Dalot (L) at half time in the English Premier League football game against Aston Villa at Villa Park (Picture credit: AFP)
Former Manchester United head coach Erik ten Hag has said that Portuguese legend Cristiano Ronaldo let the team and him down because they planned with him, adding that at that time, as a manager, he had to make a rational decision and hence kept Ronaldo out of the team.
Ronaldo was in his second stint at Manchester United when Ten Hag took charge in 2022. Their relationship soon turned sour, with the former refusing to come on as a substitute during United’s victory over Tottenham in October that year.
Ronaldo was dropped for United’s match against Chelsea, prompting him to give a bombshell television interview in which he accused the club of betraying him and admitted he had no respect for Ten Hag.
“He let the team down and he let me down, because we planned with him. Obviously, he is 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 said while speaking to The Athletic.
The former coach also claimed that Ronaldo skipped training sessions and couldn’t complete the full running drills assigned to footballers after United’s 4-0 loss to Brentford early in Ten Hag’s tenure.
“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 cannot bring yourself in the box, you cannot score,” Ten Hag said.
“He wasn’t capable of doing this. It was the wrong idea to put this to me that I expected him to do the pressing, that he was exhausted. But he could not. He ran neither in possession nor out of possession,” Ten Hag added.
The former coach also claimed that Manchester United’s owners couldn’t fulfil promises made to him before he was sacked in 2024, despite having signed a new contract.
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Ask News18Erik ten Hag explained that he planned his team strategy around Cristiano Ronaldo, but Ronaldo’s refusal to come on as a substitute against Tottenham and his subsequent bombshell interview left him no choice but to make a rational decision to drop him.
Ask News18October 20, 2026, 23:49 IST
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