“He just couldn’t do it” – Erik ten Hag’s surprising reckoning with Cristiano Ronaldo

Erik ten Hag verbally attacked football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo several years after their time together at Manchester United. The Dutchman, who was fired as head coach at Bundesliga soccer club Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2025 after three games, painted a picture of Ronaldo in an interview with the sports portal “The Athletic” that does not fit with the other image of the now 41-year-old Portuguese.

Ronaldo missed training sessions, did not reach the required heart rate during exercises and only completed two of the three planned laps during a run after a 4-0 defeat at Brentford in August 2022. “I confronted him about it,” said ten Hag, 56.

He explained to Ronaldo: "Ronnie, everyone wants to work for you to put you in the right position. But if you don't put yourself in the penalty area, you can't score a goal." Ronaldo was not able to do that, added ten Hag.

Ten Hag left no doubt about Ronaldo's extraordinary abilities. The Portuguese is one of the greatest in football history. However, he expected a player of this caliber in particular to lead by example and contribute to the team's success. Ten Hag wanted Manchester United to play with consistent pressing against the ball. However, Ronaldo was unable to support this concept. “He just couldn’t do it.”

Ronaldo also taught other players to take it easy during training. "You have training sessions so you can protect your legs. But first you have to train to reach the right fitness level." According to Ten Hag, Ronaldo's attitude also rubbed off on other players.

Ten Hag's verdict on working with Ronaldo was correspondingly clear: "He let the team down and he let me down."

“The Athletic” reports that Ronaldo has not yet responded to a query about ten Hag’s comments. Ten Hag looked after the Portuguese at Manchester United for around six months in the 2022/23 season. In January 2023, Ronaldo left the traditional English club and moved to Saudi Arabia. Ten Hag's time in Manchester also ended prematurely: the Dutchman was released in October 2024.