Portugal football team
Portugal football team
As per the latest news, Erik ten Hag claims Cristiano Ronaldo failed both him and the squad throughout his brief stay at Man United, just as Ronaldo faces a 30-day Portugal suspension. Ten Hag took charge in 2022, but the relationship with the forward broke down within months and Ronaldo left before the season reached its midpoint.
Ten Hag explains why the Cristiano Ronaldo plan failed
As reported by The Athletic, Ten Hag said Ronaldo let both the team and him down, and that the failure felt personal. He flew to Portugal to explain his aims before taking the job, since those plans included the forward. Despite calling Ronaldo an all-time great of football and saying he respected him deeply, Ten Hag explained that a manager has to decide with logic rather than sentiment.
Tensions surfaced in October 2022 after Ronaldo declined to enter the match against Tottenham as a replacement. Within 72 hours, Ten Hag left the striker out of the Premier League trip to Chelsea. In November, the Portuguese said in an interview United betrayed him and he lacked respect for Ten Hag. He also said he was being pushed out, and his exit was later described as a mutual agreement.
Ronaldo’s 2022-23 numbers for Man Utd, as per FOTMOB:
Appearances Starts Minutes played Goals Assists
16 10 960 3 2
Fitness, pressing and the numbers behind the slump
Back in summer 2021, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was the manager when a 36-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo rejoined United after leaving Juventus. Under Ten Hag, he scored just three goals in 16 appearances before leaving during the 2022-23 season. That works out at about 0.19 goals per game, a low return for a striker of his standing.
Ten Hag rejects the idea that he expected Ronaldo to press hard, saying the forward simply could not do it. The Dutchman says Ronaldo ran neither with the ball nor without it, because he had not prepared himself properly.
The manager says Ronaldo told teammates to save their legs in training, and he disagreed with that advice. He accepts rest days once a player reaches peak fitness, but believes Ronaldo had not got there yet. That mattered in his pressing system, where a forward who stops running forces the midfield to cover more ground. Ten Hag sums up his view by saying“the top player has to work for the team.”
Portugal football team
Portugal football team
Fresh trouble for Ronaldo and regrets for Ten Hag
The Portuguese Football Federation suspended Ronaldo provisionally on 10 October, and it has now banned him for 30 days. He was also fined €255, about £215, after leaving the national team camp on 30 September. The 41-year-old apologised in a public statement and accepted that his actions must have consequences. Federation rules allow a ban of one to six months, so this ruling sits at the lower end.
Ten Hag won the Carabao Cup in 2023 and the FA Cup in 2024 before United sacked him that October. The Dutchman admits he hoped to bring Declan Rice, Harry Kane and Frenkie de Jong to Old Trafford. He also opposed the move of Scott McTominay to Napoli in August 2024, about two months before his dismissal. In his view, the squad had problems at centre-half and in central midfield from the first season. He named goals as the biggest issue across all three of his seasons at Old Trafford.