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Erik ten Hag and Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United(Image: Getty Images)
Piers Morgan has accused Erik ten Hag of lying after the Dutchman claimed Cristiano Ronaldo "let the team down" and didn't train properly at Manchester United.
Ten Hag was appointed as United's new head coach in May 2022 and worked alongside Ronaldo during his brief homecoming at Old Trafford. But the pair would have a major falling out which led to the five-time Ballon d'Or winner having his contract terminated less than halfway through the 2022/23 season.
And now, Ten Hag - who was sacked by United in November 2024 - has opened up on the issues he had with Ronaldo and alleged that he did not put the work in required by his manager and teammates.
Speaking to The Athletic on Tuesday, Ten Hag said: "He let the team down, and he let me down, because we planned with him. I flew out to Portugal to speak with him about what I was aiming for before I came to United.
"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."
Ten Hag also claimed Ronaldo was not training properly.
"He was not capable of doing this," Ten Hag continued. "He ran neither in possession nor out of possession. The reason was because he didn’t prepare himself. Every top team has to embrace the top player, but the top player has to work for the team. He was telling the players, ‘Save your legs at training.’ I understand it when you are top fit, but first you have to train yourself to get into the right fitness levels."
In response to Ten Hag's comments, Morgan hit back and said the ex-United head coach is NOT telling the truth. "WHAT? This is a disgusting travesty of the truth," Morgan said on X.