Erik ten Hag has claimed Cristiano Ronaldo was no longer capable of meeting the physical demands of elite football when the forward returned to Manchester United in 2021, and said the Portugal international struggled to push himself to the limit in training.
The former United manager, who is now technical director at FC Twente, said Ronaldo’s fitness was a major problem during their time together at Old Trafford.
He also dismissed the popular idea that Ronaldo pushes himself to his limits.
“Every top team must embrace the top player, but the top player must work for the team,” Ten Hag said. “And that was simply the problem with Ronaldo.”
The Dutchman admitted that Ronaldo is one of the greatest players of all time but said his ability to perform at the highest level was gone long before he returned to United.
“The players wanted to work for him and they looked up to him because let there be no misunderstanding about that,” Ten Hag said. “He is of course a tremendous player, one of the greats of all time.
“But that is also the reality over the last seven, eight years he simply can no longer deliver. From Juventus onwards it’s simply over.”
Ronaldo returned to United from Juventus in August 2021 and scored 27 goals in 54 appearances during his second spell at the club. He initially worked under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer before Ten Hag took charge in 2022, but the relationship between the forward and the Dutchman deteriorated as Ronaldo struggled to secure a regular place in the starting XI.
Ten Hag said he had discussed his tactical plans and expectations with Ronaldo before taking the job, but believed the striker was no longer prepared to meet the demands.
“I naturally gave him a special status,” he said. “I also went to him, I spoke to him prior to that job, I explained to him how we were going to play, what his role in that would be, what I expected of him, and what he could expect from me and from the team.
“But ultimately you also have to deliver yourself and he was no longer capable of pushing himself to the limit.”
Ten Hag added that Ronaldo could no longer train at the intensity required to compete in the Premier League, the Champions League or for Portugal.
“As I just said, he could no longer bring himself to push through the pain, to give everything every single day and to train at his maximum in order to get fit,” he said. “And if you’re not fit in the Premier League, Champions League, or with the Portuguese national team, well, then you simply have no chance.”
Ronaldo was 36 when he returned to England and faced criticism over his reluctance to press opponents. Ten Hag said the forward’s reputation for exceptional fitness was a myth.
“It’s not entirely true, but that is the image,” Ten Hag said. “And that is of course how he became so good. But ultimately he could no longer bring himself to do that.”
United terminated Ronaldo’s contract in November 2022 after he gave an interview to Piers Morgan in which he said he felt “betrayed” by Ten Hag and criticised the club’s hierarchy. The forward also accused the manager of failing to show him respect.
Ten Hag said Ronaldo’s late arrival at the start of the 2022-23 season, due to personal circumstances, had contributed to the problems between them.
“By then the season had already started and things went wrong straight away,” he said. “He wasn’t fit and couldn’t deliver.”
