Erik ten Hag reveals why Cristiano Ronaldo was ‘not capable’ of pressing in Manchester United spell

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The Dutchman described issuing sanctions in matters related to player discipline, to the likes of Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford, then confessed that a similar situation emerged with the Portuguese #7.

In an interview with The Athletic, the ex-Manchester United manager claimed: “[Ronaldo] let me down… I respected him a lot,” before revealing the Red Devils icon’s behavioural issues.

On “toxic culture” at Manchester United, the Dutchman claimed that power is given to the players who enact such behaviour, ‘fuelling the cycle.’

“They are continuing the toxic culture, they fuel it. They give power to the players… sometimes, you have to make corrections,” claimed Ten Hag.

The Dutchman then explained how he felt he had to play ‘bad cop’ with players to raise standards, while grappling with the reality of having to pick certain personnel to win Premier League matches.

Ten Hag claimed that Ronaldo’s poor work ethic led to sub-par fitness levels, leaving the No.7 unable to press or play as hard as the Dutchman required him to.

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“He let the team down, and he let me down, because we planned with him,” claimed Ten Hag. “I flew out to Portugal to speak with him about what I was aiming for before I came to United.”

According to the Dutchman, the now 41-year-old pulled out of training sessions, didn’t get his heart rate raised to sufficient levels during training, and completed just two of the three scheduled laps that Ten Hag infamously made players do after a torrid 4-0 defeat to Brentford in August 2022.

“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.

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

“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 the legs. But first you have to train yourself to get into the right fitness levels.”

Ten Hag hasn’t returned to management since his brief stint post-Manchester United with Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga. Cristiano Ronaldo, whose return date, fine and suspension period for Portugal has now been revealed, is enjoying time in the Saudi Pro League, as he chases 1000 career goals.

Kedar Bayley Freelance Writer Kedar Bayley is a trained journalist specialising in culture reporting. As a fan of Liverpool FC, he writes on the Reds often. Knowledgable about all things sports, cinema and television, you can find his words in Screen International, FourFourTwo, Manchester Evening News and more.

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