Former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has accused Cristiano Ronaldo of letting the club and his team-mates down, claiming the forward failed to meet the required fitness and training standards during their time together at Old Trafford.

According to The Sun, Ten Hag made the allegations in an interview with The Athletic on Tuesday, October 20, revisiting the breakdown of their relationship before Ronaldo left United in November 2022.

“He let the team down, and he let me down, because we planned with him,” Ten Hag said.

“I flew out to Portugal to speak with him about what I was aiming for before I came to United.”

Although he acknowledged Ronaldo’s status as one of football’s greatest players, the Dutchman insisted that he had to prioritise the team when making decisions as manager.

“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,” he added.

Ten Hag also questioned Ronaldo’s fitness, alleging that the forward sometimes withdrew from training sessions and failed to reach the required heart rate levels.

He recalled United’s 4-0 defeat to Brentford in August 2022, after which he ordered his players to run laps as punishment. Ten Hag claimed Ronaldo completed only two of the three laps.

The former manager also criticised Ronaldo’s movement in the penalty area, arguing that the striker needed to work harder to create scoring opportunities.

“I confronted him with this,” Ten Hag 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.”

Ten Hag further alleged that Ronaldo contributed too little to the team’s pressing and defensive duties and encouraged other players to conserve energy during training.

“Ronaldo was telling the players: save your legs at training,” he said.

“I understand it when you are top fit, but first you have to train yourself to get into the right fitness levels.”

He maintained that elite teams must accommodate their best players but stressed that those players must also contribute to the collective effort.

“Every top team has to embrace the top player, but the top player has to work for the team,” he said.

Ronaldo’s relationship with Ten Hag deteriorated during the 2022/23 season as the forward struggled for regular playing time under the Dutchman.

The dispute culminated in November 2022 when Ronaldo left United by mutual agreement following a controversial interview in which he criticised the club and its management.

The Portuguese forward subsequently joined Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr, bringing his second spell at Old Trafford to an end.

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