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

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 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

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 Champions League match, is on our sports desk.