Ten Hag: Top clubs must embrace star players, but stars must also put the team's interests first

Erik ten Hag once again discussed the relationship between players and coaches on an ESPN program.

Ten Hag said: "Any top team must accept top players, but top players must also make concessions for the team. That was the problem with Ronaldo at the time."

"Please don't misunderstand me. He is certainly a great player, one of the greatest in football history. But the reality is that over the past seven or eight years, he has been unable to maintain his peak form. He started to decline during his time at Juventus."

Ten Hag believes Real Madrid's decision to part ways with Ronaldo was perfectly timed. In 2018, Ronaldo left the Bernabéu to join Juventus. "That was a great advantage for Real Madrid. They could see when a player was starting to decline, and they chose to let him go while he still appeared to be at his peak, but in reality he could no longer sustain that level."

The 37-year-old Ronaldo made 16 appearances and scored 3 goals under Ten Hag at Manchester United. Guest Hans Kraay Jr. asked Ten Hag whether working with the Portuguese superstar had ever been pleasant and easy. Ten Hag replied: "No, our time together was very short, and there was some tension between us."

In November 2022, Ronaldo's contract with Manchester United was terminated. Ten Hag continued: "He could no longer give his all as before, and he could no longer recover fully every day. In the Premier League, if you are not physically fit, you have no chance of winning. He could still seize chances, and everyone could see that. But if you can't even get into the box..."

Ten Hag also recalled how he approached his conversations with Ronaldo: "You have to make him see his situation, make him clearly aware of his problems, and then give him full reasons, and things will fall into place."

Kraay then imagined Ronaldo's reaction to hearing such things: "He would say, 'Are you crazy?'"

Ten Hag rejected this: "No, he didn't say that at all. The evidence is very clear. Everything in football is now recorded by data."

However, Ten Hag also stressed that he considers Ronaldo a top player. "He won the Champions League five times, scored countless goals, and made a huge contribution to football. We all admire what he has done, and I am no exception. But at that time, I had to make choices based on the interests of the team and the club."

"Ultimately, the choice was his own. It depended on whether he was willing to put in that effort. If he wasn't, then for the good of the club, I had to make other choices. We all know what happened next."

Was it not difficult to bench the renowned Cristiano Ronaldo, or even occasionally leave him out of the squad?

Ten Hag replied: "No one is above the club or the national team, not even Ronaldo or Messi. Ultimately, the team always comes first."