‘I spoke to him’ – Erik ten Hag opens up and shares the real reason behind his disagreement with Cristiano Ronaldo at Man Utd.
Erik ten Hag’s well-known clash with Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United has finally been explained by the Dutch coach himself. Ten Hag joined Man United in April 2022 and stayed for two and a half years before being let go in October 2024, with the team sitting 14th in the Premier League. During his time, he won both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup, but many fans remember the drama between him and Ronaldo.
When Ten Hag arrived, Ronaldo was already back at the club after leaving for Real Madrid years earlier. Things quickly became tense when Ronaldo refused to come on as a substitute in a game against Tottenham in October 2022, and Ten Hag later left him out of the squad for a match against Chelsea. Ronaldo was even made to train separately from the team, which led to a very honest, emotional interview where he said he felt “betrayed” and didn’t respect Ten Hag.
The two clashed over things like pressing tactics, playing time, and control. Now, nearly four years later, Ten Hag has shared his side. In an interview with The Athletic, he said Ronaldo skipped training sometimes, did not work hard enough during sessions, and didn’t complete all of the fitness drills after a heavy loss to Brentford. Ten Hag explained, “I told him many times, if you don’t get yourself in the right position, you can’t score goals. He wasn’t able to do that.” He added that it wasn’t fair to say he expected Ronaldo to do all the pressing because Ronaldo simply wasn’t prepared physically.
Ten Hag also said every top team needs its star players to work hard for the team. Ronaldo apparently told other players to “save their legs” in training, which Ten Hag said is only okay if you’re already in top shape. Because Ronaldo didn’t match Ten Hag’s style or work rate, he ended up leaving for Al Nassr at the end of 2022.
This fits with what Ronaldo said back then in his interview with Piers Morgan, where he admitted, “I don’t have respect for him because he doesn’t have respect for me.” Still, Ronaldo shared he was happy to be at Man United and hoped they’d return to success, though four years later, the club is far from that. Right now, they sit 13th in the league, with only one win in seven games, and have already been knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Brighton.