Former Manchester United manager Erik Ten Hag has no love lost for Cristiano Ronaldo. A few years ago, before Ronaldo's transfer to Saudi Arabia's Al-Nassr, he was with his former club, Manchester United. However, toward the end of his run with “The Red Devils,” things started to get heated between him and Ten Hag.
However, their animosity ended with the departure of the duo. Now, years later, Ten Hag has reopened his feud with Ronaldo. The former Manchester United manager shared new details about the tension between the two and how Ronaldo let his team down.
Ten Hag assumed control at Old Trafford in the summer of 2022. In his debut season, he secured the English League Cup and later won the FA Cup in 2024, prior to being sacked in October of that year.
Speaking to The Athletic, Ten Hag opened up about his experience with Ronaldo and how the Portuguese player was behind the scenes. “He let the team down, and he let me down too, because we were planning for the season with him in it,” Ten Hag said.
Article Continues Below“I travelled to Portugal to speak with him about the objectives I was seeking to achieve before taking on the responsibility of managing Manchester United,” he shared. “He is one of the best players in the history of football, and I respected him greatly, but as a manager, I had to make a rational decision and rely on the players I saw as the most suitable for the team,” he explained.
In his interview with The Athletic, Ten Hag also discussed the shortcomings and Ronaldo's failure to reach his training levels. Currently, at 41 years old, Ronaldo is still going strong and has been representing both Al-Nassr and the Portuguese team.