Former Manchester United assistant manager Steve McClaren believes Erik ten Hag was right to stand up to Cristiano Ronaldo during their infamous public feud that led to the Portuguese superstar leaving the club.
McClaren returned to Old Trafford for his second spell at United in 2022 to work alongside Ten Hag and oversaw the Dutchman’s relationship with Ronaldo.
After Ten Hag dropped the five-time Ballon d’Or to the bench on multiple occasions in the opening weeks of the 2022-23 season, Ronaldo accused the United boss of ‘betraying’ him and claimed he had no respect for him.
Ronaldo’s contract was mutually terminated just days later, with fans and pundits divided over who was in the right. McClaren, who left United to become Jamaica’s national team manager this summer, has defended Ten Hag and backed his decision to move on from Ronaldo.
‘I couldn’t fault his [Ten Hag’s] approach,’ McClaren told The Telegraph as he reflected on the bitter dispute. ‘He really handled it very well. I said at the time he was the right man to go in.
Erik ten Hag and Cristiano Ronaldo had a public fall-out in 2022, with the Portuguese forward accusing his manager of ‘betraying’ him
Steve McClaren, who worked as Ten Hag’s assistant at the time, has defended the Dutchman for his handling of the dispute
McClaren believes Ten Hag was right to not alter his principles for Ronaldo
‘That was shown in the way he handled [the departure of Cristiano] Ronaldo. He [Ten Hag] came in with set standards. Set rules. Set way of playing. And if you didn’t run, you didn’t play. He was rigid on that. Which the Dutch are.
‘He knew that was what was needed. There could be no flexibility, no way the players could manoeuvre [out of that responsibility].
‘This is what you had to do – or you didn’t play. And he took on Ronaldo, and quite rightly. Other managers have tried to adapt. Erik didn’t feel it was necessary to do that. [Ralf] Rangnick had tried and it hadn’t quite worked out and Ole [Gunnar Solskjaer] the same. So he [Ten Hag] stuck to his guns and developed other players.’
Ronaldo subsequently joined Al-Nassr in a deal worth £175m-a-year, and he has spent almost two years in Saudi Arabia since his explosive Old Trafford exit.
But he still keeps an eye on United, and couldn’t resist reigniting his feud with Ten Hag earlier this month.
In a blockbuster interview with former team-mate Rio Ferdinand, Ronaldo claimed Ten Hag previously told United’s players they couldn’t win the Premier League or Champions League.
Speaking on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, Ronaldo said: ‘The coach, they say they cannot compete to win the League and Champions League.
‘(As) Manchester United coach, you cannot say that you’re not going to fight to win the League or Champions League.
‘You have to be, to mentally say, listen, maybe we don’t have that potential, but I cannot say that. We’re going to try. You have to try.’
Ten Hag hit back at Ronaldo as he hinted that he was not interested in his opinion due to the forward being ‘far away in Saudi’.
Ronaldo took a fresh swipe at Ten Hag earlier this month, claiming he’d said things you ‘cannot’ say’ when you’re the Man United manager
Ten Hag hit back at Ronaldo as he hinted the forward’s opinion doesn’t matter as he’s ‘far away in Saudi’
‘He said that, that Manchester United can’t win the Premier League,’ Ten Hag responded. ‘He said this if you read the article very well. He is far away in Saudi, far away from Manchester, so everyone can have an opinion and is entitled to have an opinion. It is okay.’
Ronaldo’s interview with Ferdinand aired just days after United suffered a humbling 3-0 defeat by bitter rivals Liverpool at Old Trafford.
But they have since bounced back to take four points from their last two league games and move into the fourth round of the Carabao Cup.
Ten Hag’s men are back in action tonight when they get their Europa League campaign underway at home to Dutch outfit FC Twente.