Erik ten Hag has claimed Cristiano Ronaldo “let the team down” during their time together at Manchester United. Ten Hag has also alleged that promises made by United’s owners went unfulfilled, leading to his sacking by the club in October 2024.

Ronaldo returned for a second spell at United in August 2021 and was already at the club when Ten Hag was appointed in April 2022 as Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s successor. The relationship between the pair quickly broke down, however, with Ronaldo refusing to come on as a substitute in a win against Tottenham in October 2022 before he then publicly criticised the club in a TV interview. The forward’s contract was mutually terminated the following month.

“He let the team down, and he let me down, because we planned with him,” Ten Hag said in an interview with the Athletic. “He’s one of the best in football history. I respected him a lot. But at that time, as a manager, I had to make a rational decision and keep the players I admire in.”

Ten Hag claims Ronaldo did not complete the full run that players were set after they were beaten 4-0 by Brentford early in his reign. “I confronted him with this,” Ten Hag said. “Many times I say: ‘Ronnie, everyone wants to work for you to bring you in the right position, but if you can’t bring yourself in the box, you can’t score.’”

Ten Hag was sacked only five months after he won the FA Cup and then signed a contract extension. The Dutchman claimed in the discussions with the club’s owners about his new deal that he was made promises which were not kept, and he was left “embarrassed” when Scott McTominay was sold to Napoli without his consent. He said: “They promised me loyalty, they promised me backing, they promised communication, that we get aligned. We spoke about the issues. But the promises, they didn’t keep.

“I said: ‘No selling Scott McTominay.’ And in the end they sold him. I got, of course, very embarrassed and disappointed.”