The key facts

  • Ten Hag: Ronaldo 'let the team down and let me down', was not physically prepared and failed to complete running work after the 0-4 defeat to Brentford
  • Ronaldo's contract with United was terminated by mutual consent in November 2022 after the conflict and a television interview
  • Ten Hag also accused the club's leadership of unfulfilled promises and of selling McTominay to Napoli without his consent

Ten Hag blamed Ronaldo for the conflict

Former Manchester United head coach Erik ten Hag, in an interview with The Athletic, accused Cristiano Ronaldo of letting the team down during his time at the club. Ronaldo was at United in his second spell at the club when ten Hag was appointed in 2022. Their relationship quickly became strained: in October 2022 the forward refused to come on as a substitute in the win against Tottenham.

Contract termination and the interview

After refusing to come on as a substitute, Ronaldo was left out of the squad for the next match against Chelsea, after which he gave an explosive television interview in which he said he felt betrayed by the club and did not respect ten Hag. The following month, the contract of the forward, who had previously played for Real Madrid, was terminated by mutual consent of the parties.

Complaints about physical condition

'He let the team down and he let me down, because we had plans with him. Obviously, he is one of the best in the history of football, I had great respect for him. But at that moment, as a coach, I had to make a rational decision,' ten Hag said. According to him, Ronaldo missed training sessions and did not fully complete the running work assigned to the players after the 0-4 defeat to Brentford at the start of his tenure. 'I told him:

Complaints about the club's leadership

Ten Hag also said that the promises of United's owners were not fulfilled before his dismissal in 2024, shortly after he signed a new contract. Despite winning the FA Cup a few months earlier — a sensational victory in the final over Manchester City — he was sacked when the team sat 14th in the Premier League. The Dutchman blamed part of the blame on the club's leadership, saying he was humiliated when Scottish midfielder Scott McTominay was sold to Napoli without his consent. 'They promised me loyalty, support, communication, that we would be aligned. We discussed problems. But they did not keep their promises. I said: