3 min readUpdated: Oct 20, 2026 03:52 PM ISTCristiano Ronaldo and Erik Ten Hag had a public falling out during the player's second stint at Manchester United. (File)Former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag said that Cristiano Ronaldo let the team and him down during their time together at the club. Ten Hag said he had been keen to work with Ronaldo and had travelled to Portugal to discuss his plans with the forward before taking the United job in 2022.“He let the team down, and he let me down, because we planned with him,” Ten Hag told The Athletic.“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. But at that time, as a manager, I had to make a rational decision and keep the players I admire in,” he added.Ten Hag said Ronaldo’s preparation was another source of frustration. According to the former manager, he missed some training sessions, did not work at the required intensity in others and stopped short of completing the running exercise set for the squad after the 4-0 loss to Brentford early in the 2022-23 season.“I confronted him with this,” the Dutchman said. “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.“Every top team has to embrace the top player, but the top player has to work for the team.“He was telling the players, ‘Save your legs at the training’. I understand it when you are top fit; you have sessions, you can save the legs. But first you have to train yourself to get into the right fitness levels.”Story continues below this adALSO READ | Cristiano Ronaldo fined $285, suspended for 30 days by Portugal for walkoutTen Hag also believed Ronaldo’s approach had an effect on some of his teammates.“Players have to act, they have a big responsibility. Football is, for some, not the highest priority. And United for some wasn’t the highest priority.”Ronaldo returned to Manchester United from Juventus in August 2021 and scored 24 goals in 38 appearances in his first season back at Old Trafford. However, his relationship with the club deteriorated after Ten Hag took over as manager in May 2022.Story continues below this adRonaldo started the 2022-23 season with United but gradually lost his place in the team. In October, he refused to come on as a substitute against Tottenham Hotspur and left Old Trafford before the final whistle. Ten Hag subsequently dropped him for the game against Chelsea.In November 2022, Ronaldo gave an interview to Piers Morgan in which he criticised United and said he had “no respect” for Ten Hag. United later announced that month that Ronaldo would leave the club with immediate effect by mutual agreement. He joined Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr in December 2022.© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd Tags:cristiano ronaldoRonaldoAdvertisementLoading Recommendations...AdvertisementAdvertisement