The tension between Erik ten Hag and Cristiano Ronaldo was no secret, and their fallout became one of the biggest stories at Manchester United.
Ten Hag arrived at Old Trafford in the summer of 2022, hoping to rebuild the team, but his relationship with Ronaldo quickly turned sour.
Two years later, the 56-year-old coach sat down with The Athletic, and he claims that promises were broken and that Cristiano Ronaldo let the team down, to put it in one word, he was selfish.
“He let the team down, and he let me down, because we planned with him.
“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 ran neither in possession nor out of possession. The reason was that he didn’t prepare himself. Every top team has to embrace the top player, but the top player has to work for the team.
The tension between Erik ten Hag and Cristiano Ronaldo reached its peak in October 2022 when Ronaldo refused to come on as a substitute during Manchester United’s 2-0 win over Tottenham.
He walked down the tunnel before the final whistle, showing his frustration with the manager. Ten Hag responded by dropping Ronaldo from the squad for the next match against Chelsea and making him train away from the first team. But Ronaldo was not done.
He did an interview with Piers Morgan, where he openly spoke about his relationship with the manager and said, “I don’t have respect for him because he doesn’t show respect for me. If you don’t have respect for me, I’m never gonna have respect for you.”
The interview made their relationship even worse, and just days later, Manchester United announced that Ronaldo is leaving the club by mutual agreement.
Sky Sports Reporter Kaveh Solhekol shared his two cents after reading Ten Hag’s interview with The Athletic, and he feels like Ten Hag should not have left and United would be in a better position if he was still there, as the club was able to lift two trophies, the Carabao Cup and FA Cup.
“They promised him that things were going to be different. We’ve learned from our mistakes. We’re going to back you.
“Who were all going to be aligned, and as soon as things started to go wrong, the next season he was out of the door, and he was replaced by Ruben Amorim.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for Erik ten Hag. I think he’s kept his counsel. I think he was really, really hurt by what happened to him at Manchester United, and I think United fans by at large still like him, and I think United would be in a much better position now if they had kept faith with Ten Hag because I think they were on the right track.
“They should have backed him in the transfer market as well and signed quality players he wanted”.
