Ten Hag: Ronaldo ((let us down))

Since then, he was succeeded by Portuguese Rúben Amorim, while Michael Carrick currently takes charge.

In 2021, Ronaldo made a sensational return to United, which he defended between 2003 and 2009, but things collapsed a little more than a year later when the former Real Madrid of Spain and Juventus of Italy striker publicly criticized the club's management and coaching staff, leading to the termination of his contract by mutual consent.

The dispute between Ten Hag and Ronaldo appeared to have erupted before the latter left United in December 2022 to join Al-Nassr.

In an interview with "The Athletic" website, Ten Hag, who currently manages Dutch side Twente, said that Ronaldo used to miss some training sessions and did not raise his heart rate to the required level during training.

Ten Hag also claimed that Ronaldo did not complete all the prescribed laps that United players were asked to run after a heavy defeat against Brentford (0-4).

Ten Hag said, "He let the team down, and he let me down too, because we had made our plans with him. I traveled to Portugal to talk to him about what I was aiming for before coming to United. Obviously, he is one of the best players in the history of football. I had great respect for him. But at that time, as a manager, I had to make a rational decision and keep the players I admire within the team."

He added, "I confronted him about it... and told him many times: +Rooney, everyone wants to work for you to put you in the right position, but if you cannot put yourself inside the penalty box, you will not score+. He was not able to do that."

He continued, "It is wrong to say that I was asking him to press and that he was exhausted. But he was not able to do that. He was not running either with or without the ball. The reason is that he did not prepare himself properly."

The Dutchman believed that "every big team must embrace its big star, but the big star must also work for the team. He used to tell the players: +Save your energy in training+. I understand that when you are at peak physical readiness, as you can then conserve effort during some sessions. But first, you have to train to reach the required fitness levels."

Ten Hag also felt that United "was not the top priority" for some players.

Ten Hag's statement comes days after the Portuguese Football Federation decided to suspend Ronaldo for 30 days due to his departure from the national team camp during the recent international break.

He was also fined 255 euros ($285.90), but he affirmed that he remains available to represent Portugal if called up in the future.