Former Manchester United assistant manager Steve McClaren has revealed the real reason behind the friction between Cristiano Ronaldo and Erik ten Hag, a confrontation that ultimately led to Ronaldo’s departure from the Red Devils.
The Portuguese legend clashed with the Dutch coach at Old Trafford, where the two rarely agreed on anything, culminating in Ronaldo’s controversial exit in November 2022.
After leaving Manchester United, Ronaldo said of Ten Hag, “I don’t respect him because he doesn’t show me respect. If you don’t respect me, I’ll never respect you.”
McLaren revealed what transpired between the pair, saying, “There were many battles on the training ground. There were a lot of ‘All I want you to do is this and that’ statements… That was Erik’s coaching style: ‘Ronaldo, this is your job.'”
McClaren added: “I was telling Ronaldo: ‘All he wants from you is to be the first to press, to make one, two, maybe a third run if you feel like it. Then drop back into the center if we win the ball back to play you. That’s all he wants. If you can’t do that, you won’t play. Or if you refuse to do it, you won’t be involved. Let me be blunt, he won’t pick you in the starting lineup.'”
He continued: “It’s not like other teams might do, and that’s the difference; others might be more lenient. But Eric was adamant: ‘No, I’m going to do it, and Ronaldo has to do it, or he won’t play.'”
He concluded: “It was a struggle, or rather a confrontation, and who would win? Eric stuck to his principles. I think most managers would have adapted to Ronaldo’s situation, but he preferred to stick to his decision.”
