Former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has expressed his disappointment in former player and legendary five-time Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo for letting him and the team down during their time together at Old Trafford.

He made these remarks during his interview with The Athletic on October 20, citing how he planned the team’s tactical approach with Ronaldo, yet he “let them down”.

According to him, he travelled to Portugal to discuss what his plan for the team was with Ronaldo before taking on the job as United’s manager.

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

The Portuguese legend was in his second stint at Man Utd when Ten Hag took over in the summer of 2022. The two had a fallout in October 2022 when Ten Hag dropped Ronaldo for a Premier League match against Chelsea after the forward refused to come on as a substitute during United’s game against Tottenham.

Ronaldo subsequently gave an explosive interview in November 2022 on Piers Morgan’s ‘Unscripted’ where he expressed his discontent with Ten Hag, stating that he had no respect for him, adding that he felt “betrayed” by the club. Later, after that interview, he left the club after a mutual agreement.

personally travelled to Portugal to discuss his plans with Ronaldo before taking over at United.

Ten Hag also rejected suggestions that he expected Ronaldo to lead United’s pressing, arguing that the forward had not prepared himself adequately to meet the team’s physical demands.

“It’s the wrong idea to put this to me that I expected him to do the pressing, that he’s exhausted,” he said. “But he couldn’t. He ran neither in possession nor out of possession. The reason was that he didn’t prepare himself.”

The Dutchman added that while elite players deserved to be accommodated, they also had a responsibility to work for the team.

“Every top team has to embrace the top player, but the top player has to work for the team,” he said.

The interview comes after Ronaldo was reportedly handed a 30-day suspension and fined €255 by the Portuguese Football Federation over his departure from the national team’s international camp last month.

Ten Hag was dismissed by Manchester United in October 2024 after winning the Carabao Cup in 2023 and the FA Cup in 2024. Ronaldo scored three goals in 16 appearances under the Dutchman before leaving during the 2022-23 season.