Erik ten Hag: Cristiano Ronaldo betrayed us – but my Man Utd players have already moved on

Erik ten Hag has accused Cristiano Ronaldo of stabbing him in the back as he revealed the first time he heard the Portuguese wanted to leave was in a television interview designed to force his way out of Manchester United.

Ten Hag had remained silent since Ronaldo gave that carefully orchestrated interview to TalkTV last month, a move the United manager likened to a public appeal to be sacked.

But it is clear he felt he did everything he could to protect the 37-year-old as his powers began to fade, only to have that support rejected before discovering, with no prior warning, that he wanted to quit Old Trafford.

Ten Hag was initially reluctant to fire back after Ronaldo accused him of betrayal, as well as the insult of asking him to come on as a late substitute against Tottenham back in October, insisting the bitter breakup already belonged in the past.

But during an hour-long conversation at the team hotel in Andalucia, the true extent of his own resentment at the way Ronaldo had acted and behaved became apparent.

'He knew the consequences'

“I wanted him to stay from the first moment until now,” said Ten Hag, whose authority, in the eyes of many supporters and pundits, has been strengthened by Ronaldo’s disruptive behaviour. “He wanted to leave, it was quite clear. And when a player definitely doesn’t want to be in this club then he has to go.

“The interview was the first time he said he wanted to leave. I think as a club you can’t accept that. There will be consequences. To make that step, [to do the interview] he knew the consequences. Before he [had] never told me.

“During the season there was no transfer window, but until that moment he never told me ‘I want to leave’. In the summer we had one talk. He came in and said, ‘I will tell you in seven days if I want to stay’. Then he came back and said, ‘I want to stay’. Until that moment (the interview) I never heard anything.

“We wanted him to be part of our project, [for] him to contribute to Manchester United, because he is a great player. He has such a great history, but it’s in the past and we have to look into the future.”

Asked whether he had been trying to manage the decline of a great player only to have that thrown back in his face, Ten Hag replied: “Yes, but he chose [to do it]. I don’t want to spend energy on that. I would have preferred it to be a different way because I wanted to work with him. He chose another way.”

Asked if he had been shown a lack of respect, again the reply was “yes”. It was then that the former Ajax manager delivered a more stinging rebuke, insisting Ronaldo simply was not playing well enough to start in the Premier League because he was not in the physical shape to do so.

“When he is in good shape, he is a good player,” said Ten Hag. “And he could help us to get back and achieve the objectives we have. That is quite clear. But he wasn’t.

“I liked to work with world class players. I know they can make a difference and help you to achieve your objectives. That is why you want to have such players in your dressing room.

“But what happened happened. I have to make choices around players who are not performing and pick the best team.

“My accountability is in favour of the club and the team. They are the decisions I have to make. It doesn’t matter who is the person, it is about how we perform now.”

'Ronaldo did not want to fight for his place'

Ten Hag had begun his United career in the summer suggesting that Ronaldo could be given a contract extension and he would have liked to have the same player who scored 24 goals last season. Instead, Ronaldo did not want to fight for his place in the side and no longer wanted to be there.

“We want a new future for Manchester United and he didn’t want to be part of it,” Ten Hag added. “We move on. What I feel is that in the summer, there was a disconnect between the club and the players and the fans. Now I feel a connection. We want to keep that process going because we want to make a reconnection. We want to be unified.

“We are in a process. We are moving on. Ronaldo was part of it, but he has chosen to take another pathway.

“I did everything honest, open and transparent. We had talks about my vision. Can I forgive him? I don’t want to answer this situation. I am open to talk with him so why not.”

“We can now focus [on the players who are here.] We have moved on. We have set the standards for the future. I believe our performances will confirm that we are going in the right direction.”