ancient Manchester United says manager Erik ten Hag Cristiano Ronaldo failed during his second spell at Old Trafford because he did not work hard enough in training.
In an extensive interview with The AthleticTen Hag says the Portugal international “didn’t prepare” for the rigors of Premier League football and failed to get fit.
Ten Hag, who is now technical director of his youth team FC Twente, also claims he pushed to sign Frenkie de Jong, Declan Rice and Harry Kane during his time at United only to be let down on each occasion.
Ronaldo joined United in August 2021 and Ten Hag met him following his appointment as boss at the end of the 2021/22 season.
“He let the team down and he let me down, because we planned with him,” says Ten Hag. “I went to Portugal to talk to him about what he wanted before I came to United. He’s obviously one of the best in the history of football. I had a lot of respect for him. But at that moment, as a manager, I had to make a rational decision and keep the players I admire.”
Ronaldo did not work for the Man United team – Ten Hag
The situation eventually came to a head with Ronaldo, then a regular substitute, demanding to leave the club before his contract expired in November 2022. He subsequently joined Al-Nassr of Saudi Arabia.
“A lot of times I say, ‘Ronnie, everybody wants to work for you to get you in the right position, but if you can’t get into the box, you can’t score.’ He was not able to do so. It’s a wrong idea to tell me that he expected me to do the pressing, that he’s exhausted. But he couldn’t. He remained neither himself nor in possession. “He didn’t run out of possession.”
“All the best teams have to embrace the best player, but the best player has to work for the team.
“I used to say to the players: ‘Save your legs in training’. I understand when you’re fit, you have sessions, you can save your legs. But first you have to train to get the right level of fitness.”
Ten Hag made a name for himself as an elite coach after guiding Ajax to the semi-finals of the Champions League in 2019 with a young and stylish squad.
After being recruited by former United chief executive Richard Arnold and director of football John Murtough, he set out his vision to guide the club back to the top of the English game.
De Jong, Rice and Kane did not join United
Among his ambitious targets was Barcelona star De Jong.
“Everyone thinks that the manager is doing the negotiations, that I’m involved in financial matters, but I never was,” says Ten Hag. “Of course I did my best; I arranged meetings with him, where Richard and John were also involved, to chase him to come. It could have been very important to build the team, not only that year but for the future. But we didn’t get it.”
The second choice was Rice, then at West Ham, who has developed into one of the best central midfielders in the Premier League and played a key role in Arsenal’s title success last season.
Ten Hag added: “The problem was West Ham didn’t want to let him go. I think we could have done more to try. We were on the same page, they tried, but I don’t know how the process went. The thing is at United you need top players.”
In attack, Ten Hag were desperate to bring in Kane, who instead joined Bayern Munich from Tottenham and has scored 157 goals in 155 games for the Bundesliga champions.
“I fought for it. I felt it was very positive, but I never talked to him about it,” she said. “I don’t know how the decision process went with John, Richard, the Glazers.”
