The former manager says Ronaldo did not complete the full run and did not prepare himself, and the Portuguese Football Federation has suspended the forward for 30 days and fined him for leaving the national camp.
Former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has said Cristiano Ronaldo let him down during his time at Old Trafford. In an interview with The Athletic, Ten Hag, now technical director at FC Twente, said: "He let the team down, and he let me down, because we planned with him."
Ten Hag said he had flown to Portugal before joining United to speak with Ronaldo about his plans. "I flew out to Portugal to speak with him about what I was aiming for before I came to United." Ronaldo was already in his second spell at the club when Ten Hag took charge in the summer of 2022.
Ten Hag still spoke with respect for the forward. "Obviously, he's one of the best in football history. I respected him a lot." He added that he had to make a choice as a manager. "But at that time, as a manager, I had to make a rational decision and keep the players I admire in."
The relationship soured within months. Ten Hag left Ronaldo out for a Premier League fixture at Chelsea in October 2022; this followed Ronaldo's refusal to enter as a substitute in the Tottenham match three days before that. In November, Ronaldo gave an interview in which he said he felt "betrayed" by United and did not respect Ten Hag. Under Ten Hag, Ronaldo scored three goals in 16 outings before leaving during the 2022-23 campaign.
After a 4-0 loss to Brentford, the players were made to run laps, and Ten Hag said Ronaldo did not complete the full run. "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.'"
Ten Hag rejected the idea that he had asked Ronaldo to press until he was exhausted. "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."
Ten Hag set out what he expected from a star player:
"Every top team has to embrace the top player, but the top player has to work for the team."
He also said Ronaldo had told team-mates to "save your legs at the training". Ten Hag accepted that a fit player can save his legs in training, but he said that comes later. "But first you have to train yourself to get into the right fitness levels."
Ten Hag also said the club's owners had let him down. "They promised me loyalty, they promised me backing, they promised communication, that we get aligned." He said: "But the promises, they didn't keep." He had asked the club not to sell Scott McTominay. "I said: 'No selling Scott McTominay.' And in the end they sold him." The sale to Napoli came in August 2024. "I got, of course, very embarrassed and disappointed." United sacked Ten Hag in October 2024, after he had won the Carabao Cup in 2023 and the FA Cup in 2024.
Ronaldo's own troubles with the Portuguese national team are separate from the interview. The Portuguese Football Federation suspended him for 30 days on Monday and fined him 255 euros (£215) for leaving Portugal's international camp. Ronaldo has said he is available to play for Portugal if he is called up again.
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