Ten Hag accuses Ronaldo of skipping laps and telling teammates to save their legs at United

Erik ten Hag has accused Cristiano Ronaldo of unprofessionalism during their time together at Manchester United, claiming the forward refused to complete training drills and actively encouraged teammates to do less work.

Speaking to The Athletic in an in-depth interview, Ten Hag — now technical director at boyhood club FC Twente — said Ronaldo pulled out of training sessions and completed only two of the three laps he required from his squad following a 4-0 thrashing by Brentford at the start of the 2022/23 season.

“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’. He was not capable to do this. He ran neither in possession nor out of possession. The reason was because he didn’t prepare himself.”

Ten Hag also alleged that Ronaldo was telling teammates to conserve energy in training. “He was telling the players, ‘Save your legs at the training’,” the Dutchman said. “I understand it when you are top fit; you have sessions, you can save the legs. But first you have to train yourself to get into the right fitness levels.”

The manager, who took charge at Old Trafford in April 2022, said Ronaldo’s conduct ultimately forced his hand. “He let the team down, and he let me down, because we planned with him. I flew out to Portugal to speak with him about what I was aiming for before I came to United. 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.”

The relationship between the two had deteriorated sharply during the 2022/23 campaign. Ronaldo missed much of pre-season for personal reasons, was dropped to the bench after a slow start, and then refused to come on as a substitute during a victory against Tottenham, instead walking down the tunnel before the final whistle. Ten Hag responded by excluding him from the squad for one match.

Ronaldo never played for United again after the Premier League paused for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. He had previously addressed the fallout in an explosive interview in November 2022, which hastened his departure from the club. He has not yet responded to Ten Hag’s latest remarks.