Piers Morgan accuses sacked Ten Hag of lying over Cristiano Ronaldo training claims

Piers Morgan has publicly accused Erik ten Hag of lying after the sacked Manchester United head coach claimed Cristiano Ronaldo did not train properly and “let the team down” during the Portuguese forward’s troubled second spell at Old Trafford.

Ten Hag, dismissed by United in November 2024, gave his most detailed account yet of his breakdown with Ronaldo in an interview with The Athletic published on Tuesday. The Dutchman said he flew to Portugal before taking charge at Old Trafford to outline his vision, but alleged that Ronaldo subsequently failed to meet the standards he demanded.

“He let the team down, and he let me down, because we planned with him,” Ten Hag said. “Obviously, 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.”

Ten Hag went further, claiming Ronaldo told teammates to conserve energy in training sessions and was unable to fulfil basic pressing duties. “He ran neither in possession nor out of possession. The reason was because he didn’t prepare himself,” the former Ajax coach said. “He was telling the players, ‘Save your legs at training’. I understand it when you are top fit, but first you have to train yourself to get into the right fitness levels.”

Ronaldo had scored 24 goals in 38 appearances in his first season back at United in 2021/22, but his second campaign unravelled rapidly. His contract was terminated by mutual consent before the end of the 2022/23 season following a high-profile television interview in which he criticised the club and Ten Hag directly.

Morgan, a close friend and prominent supporter of Ronaldo, wasted no time responding on X. “WHAT? This is a disgusting travesty of the truth,” he wrote, stopping short of providing specific counter-evidence but making clear he regards Ten Hag’s account as fabricated.

The public spat reopens one of the most turbulent episodes in United’s recent history at a moment when Ten Hag, now without a club, has little to lose by speaking candidly. Whether Ronaldo or his camp will issue a formal rebuttal remains to be seen.