Former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag says Cristiano Ronaldo struggled to fit into his plans at Old Trafford due to fitness concerns and the requirements of Ten Hag’s preferred style of play. In interviews published online, Ten Hag points to Ronaldo’s physical condition and suggests it affected how well the forward could meet the demands of the system he was trying to implement.
Both outlets attribute Ten Hag’s explanation to Ronaldo’s post-Juventus period after his 2021 move to Manchester United. One report highlights Ten Hag’s account of Ronaldo’s inability to match the physical and tactical standards he wanted, while another frames the issue as a broader decline in Ronaldo’s ability to deliver at the highest level. The coverage differs mainly in emphasis—one stresses fit with Ten Hag’s style, the other foregrounds that Ronaldo “could no longer deliver”—but both describe the same core reasoning from Ten Hag: fitness and performance limitations during their time together.
