# Ten Hag on Ronaldo: 'He let the team down, and he let me down' at Manchester United

Source: Searchable (https://searchable.pk/news/sports/ten-hag-on-ronaldo-he-let-the-team-down-and-he-let-me-down-at-manchester-united)
Type: News article
Author: Searchable Editorial
Published: 20 Oct 2026
Updated: 20 Oct 2026
Retrieved: 20 Oct 2026

> The former United manager says Cristiano Ronaldo 'didn't prepare himself' in 2022, the season that ended with the forward leaving Old Trafford.

**Erik ten Hag says Cristiano Ronaldo "let the team down, and he let me down" during his second spell at Manchester United**, in an interview with The Athletic published on Tuesday 20 October, [Business Recorder reported](https://www.brecorder.com/news/40445126/ronaldo-let-man-united-down-says-clubs-former-boss-ten-hag) from Reuters. The former United manager went through the falling-out that ended with Ronaldo leaving Old Trafford in November 2022.

## What Ten Hag said

The Dutch coach said United had built their plans around the Portuguese forward, which is why his form hurt: "He let the team down, and he let me down, because we planned with him."

He rejected the idea that the problem was his pressing game wearing Ronaldo out. "It's the wrong idea to put this to me that I expected him to do the pressing, that he's exhausted. But he couldn't," Ten Hag said. "The reason was because he didn't prepare himself." He added that "if you can't bring yourself in the box, you can't score."

Ten Hag said he had confronted Ronaldo about his performances and had to make a "rational decision and keep the players I admire in." He was still respectful of the player: "Obviously, he's one of the best in football history. I respected him a lot."

## How it ended

| Season | What happened |
| --- | --- |
| 2003 to 2009 | Ronaldo wins three Premier League titles under Alex Ferguson, then joins Real Madrid |
| 2021 | Returns to Old Trafford |
| 2022-23 | One league goal in 10 appearances under Ten Hag; leaves in November 2022 |
| December 2022 | Joins Al-Nassr, scores 14 league goals in 16 games that season |
| 2024 | Ten Hag is sacked by United, after a third-place finish in 2022-23 |

Reuters said it had contacted Ronaldo's representatives for comment.

## Ronaldo now

Ronaldo, 41, is Portugal's all-time leading scorer with **146 goals** and is **19 short of 1,000 career goals**. He is currently serving a **30-day ban** from the Portuguese football federation after leaving the national team camp following a rift with coach Jorge Jesus.

Ronaldo has one of the biggest followings of any footballer in Pakistan,. More football news, including tonight's [PSG vs Barcelona](/news/sports/psg-vs-barcelona-tonight-kick-off-at-midnight-pakistan-time-nuno-mendes-and) Champions League match, is on our [sports desk](/news/sports).

## Frequently asked questions

**What did Ten Hag say about Ronaldo?**

In an interview with The Athletic published on 20 October 2026, he said Ronaldo let the team and him down at Manchester United in 2022 because 'he didn't prepare himself'.

## Sources

- Ronaldo let Man United down, says club's former boss Ten Hag (Business Recorder (Reuters)): https://www.brecorder.com/news/40445126/ronaldo-let-man-united-down-says-clubs-former-boss-ten-hag

How to cite: "Ten Hag on Ronaldo: 'He let the team down, and he let me down' at Manchester United", Searchable, 20 Oct 2026, https://searchable.pk/news/sports/ten-hag-on-ronaldo-he-let-the-team-down-and-he-let-me-down-at-manchester-united