'Cristiano Ronaldo was never the problem at Man United': Erik Ten Hag

The Dutch manager and the Portuguese star had a massive falling out.

According to former Manchester United manager Erik Ten Hag, Cristiano Ronaldo was “Never the problem” during his two-and-a-half-year tenure at Old Trafford.

After Cristiano Ronaldo returned to Manchester United in 2021, he and Ten Hag had a publicly tense relationship that ended a year later when the club agreed to his departure.

United fired the Dutchman in October of last year due to a subpar start to the 2024–25 campaign. Since then, he has taken over at Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen.

Following Leverkusen’s 2-0 loss to Chelsea in a pre-season friendly at Stamford Bridge, Ten Hag informed reporters.

Ten Hag opens up about his relationship with Ronaldo at United

“For me he’s [Ronaldo] no problem. He was never the problem and I think that’s the past. I think it was what happened. It’s the past and after that, we won two trophies at Manchester United. I wish him all the best for the for the future and I wish him the best of luck.”

Even though his tenure at United ended in controversy, Erik Ten Hag guided the team to two domestic championships during his tenure: an FA Cup victory against neighbours Manchester City in 2024 and a Carabao Cup victory in 2023.

Ten Hag on winning trophies with Bayer Leverkusen

“You have to ask the club [on his trophy record appealing to Leverkusen], but for sure I love to win trophies and that is what I’m doing all my career and I want to keep this process going and that is my challenge with Leverkusen to do the same,” Ten Hag said.

Leverkusen will play SG Sonnenhof in the DFB Pokal first round on August 15 in Erik Ten Hag’s first official match as manager. A week later, they will play TSG Hoffenheim in their Bundesliga.

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