Ten Hag revisits Ronaldo split and says the forward let him down

When Erik ten Hag arrived at Manchester United, he said he wanted to count on Cristiano Ronaldo for the following season. Their relationship appeared to be in good shape. A few weeks later, the 55-year-old coach was criticising the Portuguese forward’s conduct and disciplining him. Almost two years after his dismissal, ten Hag has revisited the split in an interview with The Athletic, making clear how disappointed he felt: “He let the team down, and he let me down too, because we had plans with him.”

Ten Hag spoke at length about the reasons for his failure in charge of Manchester United. His account of Ronaldo is particularly blunt, reviving a disagreement that had already spilled into public view. The coach says he had expectations for their partnership, while presenting his decisions as those of a manager responsible for acting in the team’s interests—even when the player involved was someone he admired.

He recalls travelling to Portugal to discuss his objectives with Ronaldo before joining United. Ten Hag describes him as one of the greatest players in football history and says he respected him enormously. But, he explains, admiration could not replace his judgement as a coach: he had to make a rational decision and keep the players he admired. RMC Sport also reports his remarks that players first needed to train to reach the required level of fitness before they could afford to conserve energy in sessions.

The criticism also concerned the day-to-day work. In ten Hag’s account, Ronaldo could miss training or take part in some sessions without showing intensity. On the pitch, the Dutchman felt the forward was not positioning himself well enough in the penalty area to give himself a chance to score. He says he repeatedly told him that the team wanted to put him in the best conditions, but that good positioning was still necessary to finish. In his view, the issue was not simply one of status or respect: it also involved what the coach expected Ronaldo to deliver in training and in matches.

The recent comments contrast with a 2025 statement from ten Hag, when he said that “CR7 was never the problem”. The interview now offers a more complicated picture of their relationship: the coach says he initially counted on the Portuguese star, while also arguing that his conduct and performances did not meet expectations. Their dispute had already become public before the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Shortly before travelling there, Ronaldo gave an interview in which he criticised Manchester United and directly targeted his manager. Ten Hag’s return to that period therefore brings both his initial hopes for Ronaldo and the reasons he gives for their eventual breakdown back into focus.