Ten Hag attacks Ronaldo again, praises Real Madrid's decision

Erik ten Hag has taken another swipe at his former player Cristiano Ronaldo.

Now captain of Saudi Arabia's Al-Nassr, Ronaldo spent a short spell under the Dutchman at Manchester United in 2022. He never won his coach over.

The ESPN network carried Ten Hag's comments, made on the programme "Good Morning: the Dutch League".

Ten Hag said: "Every big team must embrace its first star, but the first star must also make sacrifices for the good of the team. That was simply the problem with Ronaldo."

Now technical director at Twente, he added: "I don't want there to be any misunderstanding on my part. He is of course a wonderful player, and he belongs on the list of the greats of world football."

He stressed: "But the truth is also that he has no longer been able to deliver the required level over the last seven or eight years. Since his departure from Juventus, it was simply over."

Real Madrid got the timing right, Ten Hag reckons, cutting Ronaldo loose when they did. The player left the Santiago Bernabeu for Juventus in 2018.

He explained: "This is also one of Real Madrid's great talents. They recognise when a player's level begins to decline, and then they let him go at a time when, from the perspective of the outside world, he is still at the peak of his level, while in reality he is no longer able to deliver the required performance."

At 37, Ronaldo managed 3 goals in 16 matches under Ten Hag.

Ten Hag continued: "Ronaldo was no longer able to force himself to endure the hardship, to give everything he had on a daily basis, and to work towards reaching the best physical condition. If you are not physically ready in the Premier League, you will not have any chance."

He also sat the Portuguese down to spell out his situation: "You put him in front of the truth and present him with logical and convincing arguments, and then the matter becomes completely clear."

Sports analyst Hans Kraay pictured Ronaldo's reaction to those conversations, asking: "Was he telling you at the time that you were out of your mind?"

Ten Hag batted that away: "No, he did not say that at all. The evidence was very clear. These days, everything in football is monitored and recorded."

Once more he was quick to underline his respect for Ronaldo as a top-class player.

He said: "He won the Champions League 5 times, and scored that enormous number of goals. He gave a lot to football. We all enjoyed watching him, and so did I. But at that time, I had to make decisions that served the interests of the team and the club."

Was it hard, he was asked, to bench a star of Ronaldo's stature and sometimes drop him from the squad altogether?

He replied: "No one is bigger than a club or a country. Cristiano Ronaldo is no exception to that, and neither is Lionel Messi. In the end, the interest of the team always comes first."