Ronaldo unable to deliver at the top level since 2018, says Ten Hag

Cristiano Ronaldo's career at the top level has been "over" since Real Madrid allowed him to join Juventus in 2018, believes his former Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag.

Ten Hag and Ronaldo endured a turbulent few months together at United in the first half of 2022-23, which culminated in a spectacular public falling-out.

Amid reports that Ronaldo wanted to leave United following their failure to qualify for the Champions League, Ten Hag left the five-time Ballon d'Or winner out of his lineup on multiple occasions. Ronaldo subsequently said he did not respect Ten Hag in an explosive interview with Piers Morgan, which led to United terminating his contract.

And Ten Hag reignited the animosity between the duo last month, when he accused Ronaldo of being a lazy trainer in an interview with The Athletic.

Now, the Dutchman – who is currently serving as FC Twente's sporting director – has claimed Ronaldo's decline was obvious long before he returned to United in the summer of 2021.

"He is, of course, a tremendous player, one of the greats of all-time," Ten Hag told ESPN in the Netherlands. 

"But that is also the reality; over the last seven, eight years, he can simply no longer deliver. From Juventus onwards, it's simply over.

"And that is actually the great gift of Real Madrid – they always know when to say goodbye to players at the right moment."

Ronaldo scored a remarkable 446 goals in 435 appearances for Madrid between 2009 and 2018, winning the Champions League four times in that span and averaging a goal every 84 minutes for Los Blancos.

His minutes-per-goal rate worsened when he joined Juventus (113 mins per goal), though he still scored 101 times in 134 appearances for the Turin giants, then he scored every 157 mins during his second spell with United, between 2021 and 2022 (27 goals in 54 games).

Ten Hag also said he had confronted Ronaldo about the realities of his waning powers but did not reveal how the Portugal icon reacted. 

He said: "You hold a mirror up to him, and you show him the evidence. It's very clear."

Ronaldo was recently given a 30-day suspension by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) following a spat with another coach, Jorge Jesus, which will rule him out of their upcoming Nations League fixtures against Denmark and Wales.

However, the 41-year-old could return to international football in 2027, with Portugal already assured of a place in the Nations League quarter-finals in March.