Ten Hag takes fresh swipe at Cristiano Ronaldo over Man Utd fall-out - The News International

Erik ten Hag has called out Cristiano Ronaldo once again claiming that his former Manchester United player has not been able to deliver for seven or eight years.

Ten Hag, who took charge of United in April 2022 clashed with Ronaldo during the Portuguese superstar’s second spell with Old Trafford.

Ronaldo returned to the squad but he was sidelined for their next two matches before the Premier League season broke for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Ten Hag criticized Ronaldo’s conduct during this period in an extensive interview with The Athletic in October further intensifying his severe assessment of the 41-year-old.

“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.”

“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.”

Ten Hag continued by suggesting that Ronaldo was no longer capable of maintaining the elite performance levels needed to justify a place in Manchester United’s starting eleven.

“When I started at United, and I explained to him how we were going to play, what his role 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.”

Ten Hag says there was no resistance to criticism of his managerial abilities from Ronaldo when he confronted him about his shortcomings.