Former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag says Cristiano Ronaldo “let the team down” and that the club’s leadership tolerated a “toxic culture” by giving players too much influence.
In the second part of an interview with The Athletic’s Laurie Whitwell, Ten Hag described disagreements over discipline involving Ronaldo, Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford and other players.
“In doing so, they were actually perpetuating that toxic culture,” he said. “They fueled this culture and handed power to the players.”
Ten Hag said Rashford had outstanding ability but needed the right mentality to fulfil his potential.
“If his mindset is right, Rashford is an excellent player,” he said. “I always trusted him and always played him. But when you set these standards, sometimes you have to take corrective action.”
Manchester United maintains that standards of conduct later improved. The club’s leadership supported Ruben Amorim when managing player departures and believed difficult dressing-room behaviour had been addressed.
After Ten Hag’s departure, Rashford was loaned to Aston Villa and Barcelona respectively and performed well. At the start of this season, however, he was affected by a hip injury, while Michael Carrick said during pre-season that the England international’s mentality was excellent.
Ten Hag said a manager had to combine strict discipline with the practical need to select the players most likely to win matches.
Ronaldo, who returned to Old Trafford in August 2021, was already at Manchester United when Ten Hag arrived. Before taking the job, Ten Hag flew to Portugal to explain his plans to him.
“He let the team down, and he let me down, because we had already included him in the team’s plans,” Ten Hag said. “Obviously, he is one of the greatest players in football history. I always respected him greatly. But as a manager, in that situation, I had to make rational decisions while continuing to keep the players I admired in the team.”
Ten Hag said Ronaldo missed training sessions and, when he did attend, did not reach the required intensity. After the 4-0 defeat by Brentford in August 2022, the squad was ordered to run three laps; Ronaldo completed two.
“I communicated with him directly about these matters,” Ten Hag said. “Many times I told him: ‘Ronnie, everyone is willing to work for you and wants to help you get into the best position. But if you can’t get into the box yourself, you can’t score goals.’”
He rejected the suggestion that pressing had exhausted Ronaldo.
“The fact is, he really couldn’t do it,” Ten Hag said. “He didn’t run enough, whether the team had the ball or not. The reason was that he wasn’t fully prepared himself.”
Ten Hag added that Ronaldo had advised teammates to conserve energy in training, although he accepted that could be appropriate for players who were already fully fit.
“Every top team must embrace and utilize top players, but top players must also work hard for the team,” he said.
The Athletic said Ronaldo’s representatives had been given Ten Hag’s comments but had not responded by publication. Ten Hag also argued that some players did not treat football or Manchester United as their highest priority.
The interview returned to the issue after Lisandro Martinez made controversial remarks following Manchester United’s 2-0 defeat by Atletico Madrid last week. The club fined him internally, but he was immediately restored to the team. Ten Hag did not comment on that specific incident.
He said the problem at Manchester United had involved the so-called “Real Madrid gang” of Ronaldo, Casemiro and Raphael Varane, who won 14 Champions League titles collectively during Zinedine Zidane and Carlo Ancelotti’s time at Real Madrid.
“I think this is the influence of the so-called ‘Real Madrid gang’,” Ten Hag said. “Players have a lot of power and want to make their own decisions.”
He believed their preferred style did not match the aggressive, dynamic football the club wanted to develop.
Ten Hag said Casemiro had been signed to organise midfield like an American football quarterback, but later appeared to lose motivation. The Athletic had previously reported that Casemiro expected Manchester United to sign players capable of challenging for the Premier League title in summer 2023, after Ten Hag’s side finished third in his first season.
Responding to Fred’s description of him as an excellent tactical coach but a poor man-manager, Ten Hag smiled and said: “I’m not angry with Fred.”
“When players are not performing efficiently or are not fully prepared, you have to challenge them,” he added. “But all of this is always based on mutual respect. You want to push them to improve, you want to bring out the best in them.”
