Steve McClaren has revealed how Cristiano Ronaldo’s refusal to lead the Manchester United press ultimately led to his explosive exit.
Ronaldo, 41, left Old Trafford by mutual consent in November 2022 just days after a bombshell interview with Piers Morgan in which he criticised the club, the Glazers’ ownership, former manager Erik ten Hag and his team-mates.
The Portuguese said of ten Hag: ‘I don’t have respect for him because he doesn’t show respect for me. If you don’t have respect for me, I’m never going to have respect for you.’
In 2024, he doubled down on his disdain for the Dutchman, insisting he was too negative for a club of United’s stature.
‘(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.’
Steve McClaren has lifted the lid on the events that led to Ronaldo’s Man United exit
The Portuguese superstar had an explosive falling out with then-boss Erik ten Hag (left)
And now McClaren, who served as ten Hag’s assistant during his tenure at the club, has shed light on the events that led to their explosive fallout.
Speaking on The Good, The Bad and The Football podcast, McClaren revealed how he tried to implore Ronaldo to follow ten Hag’s simple tactical instructions in order to guarantee his place in the team.
‘There was a lot of battles on that training field,’ he reflected. ‘There was a lot of “all I want you to do is this, this, this and this.” That was Erik’s coaching – Ronnie this is your job.
‘I used to say to Ronnie, “all he [Ten Hag] wants you to do is, you’re the first press, make one run, make two runs, and maybe make a third one, if you feel like it. And then, recover back into the middle, in case we win the ball, and then we can play to you. That’s all he wants you to do.”
‘”If you can’t do that, you won’t be playing. Or if you won’t do that, you can’t be playing. Okay, or he [Ten Hag] won’t pick you. I’m telling you, he won’t pick you.”
‘It’s not like, I think other people would, and that’s the difference, other people would. But Erik was, no, I’m doing that, and he’s [Ronaldo] got to do it, otherwise he doesn’t play.
‘It was a little bit of a fight. Not a fight, but a standoff, and who is going to win? Erik stuck to his guns. I think most managers would accommodate to that. some managers are like that. But he stuck to his guns.’
Reflecting on the club’s predicament in November last year – at which time Ruben Amorim was unable to put together a consistent run of results – Ronaldo said he was ‘sad’ to see the club struggling.
McClaren said that Ronaldo’s refusal to lead the tactical press led to his bust up with ten Hag
‘For me, I’m sad because of the club, that’s one of the most important clubs in the world, and a club that I still have in my heart because of the obvious reasons,’ he told Piers Morgan.
‘You have to follow with the intelligent people, smart people, to create a base for the future as Manchester United have [done] so many years ago.
‘Nicky Butt, Gary [Neville], Roy Keane, [David] Beckham, they became big players but they had youth. So Manchester United right now, they don’t have a structure.
‘I hope that changes in the future, present/future, because the potential of the club, it’s amazing. It’s one of the most important clubs of the century.’
Asked by Morgan: ‘Do you still look out for United results. And does it hurt you to see how badly they do?’
‘Of course. Of course,’ Ronaldo replied.
‘Because I was there so many years. I win the Champions League there, I win the golden ball, I win like 12, 13, 14 titles there.
‘So I repeat, Manchester United is still in my heart. I love that club.
‘But we have all to be honest and look for ourselves and say, “Listen, they are not in a good path”. So, they need to change and it’s not only about the coach and players, in my opinion.’
