Former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has opened up about his fallout with Cristiano Ronaldo during his managerial spell at Old Trafford.

According to the Dutchman, the Portuguese captain let the club and his teammates down by failing to meet the team’s fitness and training standards.

The Sun reports that ten Hag made the allegations in a recent interview with The Athletic, where he reflected on his strained relationship with the Al Nassr captain.

“He let the team down, and he let me down, because we planned with him,” ten Hag said.

“I flew out to Portugal to speak with him about what I was aiming for before I came to United.”

Despite the fallout, the former Ajax manager acknowledged the greatness of the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.

“Obviously, he’s one of the best in football history. I respected him a lot. But at that time, as a manager, I had to make a rational decision,” he added.

Ten Hag also claimed that Ronaldo sometimes discouraged his teammates from pushing themselves during training, urging them to save their legs for matchdays.

“Ronaldo was telling the players: save your legs at training,” he said.

“I understand it when you are top fit, but first you have to train yourself to get into the right fitness levels.”

WDN