Erik ten Hag takes another swipe at Cristiano Ronaldo over Man Utd fall-out

Erik ten Hag has put Cristiano Ronaldo on blast once again as he claimed that his former Manchester United player hasn’t been able to “deliver” for seven or eight years.

>Ten Hag, who took charge of United in April 2022, fell out with Ronaldo during the Portuguese superstar’s second stint at Old Trafford. After dropping him to the bench after a slow start to the season, Ronaldo refused to come on as a substitute and stormed down the tunnel during a victory against Tottenham, which led to him being banished from then first-team squad for one match.

>Ronaldo later returned to the squad but he played no part in their next two matches before the Premier League season broke for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Then in November 2022, he spoke in detail about the breakdown in relationship in an explosive interview with Piers Morgan, which accelerated his exit with the Red Devils subsequently terminating his contract.

>Ten Hag accused Ronaldo of unprofessionalism during this period in an in-depth interview with The Athleticin October and has now doubled down on his scathing critique of the 41-year-old.

Erik ten Hag has doubled down on his criticism of Cristiano Ronaldo (Reuters)"Every top team must embrace the top player, but the top player must also make way for the team. That was simply the problem with Ronaldo," Ten Hag said on ESPN.

>“The players wanted to work for him and they looked up to him because let there be no misunderstanding about that. He is of course a tremendous player, one of the all-time greats.

>“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.

>“That is actually the great gift of Real Madrid. They always know when to say goodbye to players at the right moment. They recognise when a player’s level is declining. And they say goodbye at a moment when to the outside world, they still appear to be at their peak, but they can no longer actually deliver.”

>Ten Hag continued by saying Ronaldo could no longer push himself to be at the level that warranted a starting place at Man United.

>He added: “When I started at United, and I explained to him how we were going to play, what his role in that would be, and what he could expect from me and from the team. But ultimately, you also have to deliver yourself.

>“He could no longer bring himself to push through the pain and to give everything every single day and to train at his maximum in order to get fit.

>“If you’re not fit in the Premier League, Champions League, or with the Portuguese national team, well, then you simply have no chance.”

>Ten Hag was questioned about how this seemed to go against a reputation Ronaldo has built during his career that surrounds his impeccable fitness and physical ability.

Ten Hag said Ronaldo could never push himself to reach the fitness required (PA Archive)“But that is the image,” he responded. “And that is of course how he became so good. But ultimately he could no longer bring himself to do that. If you can't do it, then the laws of the Premier League are merciless. Then you can no longer keep up.

>“You show him what is required. And he knows it too, because he knows what is required. Because otherwise he could never have achieved this, of course. You hold a mirror up to him, and then you come with arguments that hold up. Then you show him the evidence. It’s very clear.”

>Ten Hag says there was no pushback or criticism of his managerial abilities from Ronaldo when he confronted him about his shortfalls.

>“No, he doesn’t say that at all, because the evidence was so clear,” he said.