Cristiano Ronaldo’s time at Manchester United came to an ugly end in 2022, following a period of discontentment with then-manager Erik ten Hag and an infamous interview with journalist Piers Morgan. Ten Hag, who was sacked by United in 2024, has now made explosive revelations over Ronaldo’s behaviour during his second stint at the club.
In a recent interview, the Dutch manager has said that Ronaldo let both him and the club down, and that his poor conduct possibly had a negative influence on the rest of the squad.
But at that time, as a manager, I had to make a rational decision and keep the players I admire in,” ten Hag has revealed. “I flew out to Portugal to speak with him about what I was aiming for before I came to United. Obviously, he’s one of the best in football history. I respected him a lot. “Many times I say, ‘Ronnie, everyone wants to work for you to bring you in the right position, but if you can’t bring yourself in the box, you can’t score’. He was not capable of doing this. 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. He ran neither in possession nor out of possession. Things have momentarily, but not permanently, improved at Manchester United since ten Hag’s departure.
Because he didn’t prepare himself,” ten Hag has said, the reason was. His spell was followed by a tumultuous period under Portuguese manager Ruben Amorim , under whom United finished 15th in the Premier League and lost the Europa League final in 2024-25.
