Erik ten Hag says Cristiano Ronaldo ‘‘let the team down’’ in interview with The Athletic
Erik ten Hag told The Athletic on October 20, 2026, that Cristiano Ronaldo ‘‘let the team down, and he let me down, because we planned with him’’ during their time together at Manchester United. Ten Hag said Ronaldo’s approach to training and fitness made it difficult to construct the team he wanted at Old Trafford.
Ten Hag broke his silence about a relationship that deteriorated during the 2022-23 season, saying he respected Ronaldo’s legacy but could not allow an individual’s status to override collective responsibility. He revealed he had travelled to Portugal to outline his vision with Ronaldo before taking charge but ultimately made decisions based on what he believed best for the squad. Ten Hag said he wanted a team built around his tactical demands and that Cristiano’s standing and influence complicated that process.
On responsibility and accountability, Ten Hag spoke plainly: “He let the team down, and he let me down, because we planned with him.” He argued that accommodating Ronaldo’s reputation could not come at the expense of the manager’s methods.
Ten Hag recounted confronting Ronaldo repeatedly about his role and work-rate, saying: “I confronted him with this. 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 to do 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. The reason was because he didn’t prepare himself.”
Ten Hag contrasted Ronaldo’s productive first season back with the sharp decline that followed. Ronaldo scored 24 goals across all competitions in 2021-22, including 18 in the Premier League and six in the Champions League, finishing as United’s leading scorer; under Ten Hag in 2022-23 he managed three goals in 16 appearances across all competitions and started only four Premier League games before leaving in November 2022.
Tensions escalated during 2022-23 after Ronaldo refused to come on as a substitute against Tottenham and left the stadium before full-time, and his subsequent interview with Piers Morgan resulted in the termination of his contract. Ten Hag also criticised what he called the “Madrid connection”, saying: “I can say I think that’s what the Madrid connection brought in, that players are powerful and they want to decide. In my opinion it didn’t suit the phase United was in. The leadership wanted attacking, dynamic football and these players wanted to play what fitted themselves.”
Two years after his sacking, the former United manager reiterated that backing Ronaldo had been the wrong call for the club and said the mismatch between individual expectations and his tactical plan prevented them from finding common ground.