‘I confronted him’ – Erik ten Hag breaks ranks and reveals the true reason for his feud with Cristiano Ronaldo at Man Utd
Erik ten Hag's feud with Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United is well documented, and the Dutchman has now explained why their relationship broke down.
Ten Hag joined Man United in April 2022 and spent two and a half years in the Old Trafford dugout before being sacked in October 2024, with the club 14th in the Premier League.
The Dutchman did win a Carabao Cup and FA Cup during his time with the Red Devils; however, one of the biggest talking points of his tenure was his feud with Ronaldo.
Erik ten Hag explains why he fell out with Cristiano Ronaldo at Man United
When Ten Hag arrived at the 13-time Premier League champions in April 2022, Ronaldo was eight months into his second spell at the club after previously leaving United to join Real Madrid in 2009.
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But his return soon soured when the Portuguese superstar refused to come on as a substitute in a 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur in October 2022, and Ten Hag later dropped him from the squad against Chelsea.
After being forced to train away from the first team, Ronaldo sat down for an unfiltered, explosive interview with Piers Morgan, saying he felt "betrayed" by the club and had "no respect" for the Dutchman.
Ten Hag reportedly clashed with the legendary forward over tactical pressing demands, playing time and authority, and almost four years on from this feud, he has finally explained his side of events.
In an interview with The Athletic, the former Ajax boss said Ronaldo pulled out of training sessions, did not get his heart rate raised to the required level when he did train, and only completed two of the three scheduled laps of the infamous run he made his players do after they lost 4-0 at Brentford in August 2022.
“I confronted him with this,” the 56-year-old 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 your legs. But first you have to train yourself to get into the right fitness levels.”
Ronaldo wasn't willing to buy into Ten Hag's tactical demands and the work rate required to play in his system, leading to his departure to Al Nassr at the end of 2022.
Cristiano Ronaldo's 2022 comments on Erik ten Hag resurface
Ten Hag's comments on Ronaldo are hardly surprising given what led to his exit, and the 41-year-old's comments from his interview with Morgan four years have resurfaced.
"I don't have respect for him because he doesn't have respect for me," Ronaldo stated.
"I was and still am very happy to be here," he continued. "For me, the most important thing is to try to win the games and try to win some championship or some cup but I believe that Manchester will be where they belong. As I say before, sometimes it takes time but I still believe."
Ronaldo had hopes of United returning to "where they belong", but four years after making those comments, they couldn't be any further away from his expectations.
The Red Devils sit 13th in the top flight with one win from seven matches and have already been knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Brighton.
Topics: Erik Ten Hag, Cristiano Ronaldo, Man Utd
Thomas Griffin