Hear directly from Steve McClaren as he recounts the behind-the-scenes fallout between Cristiano Ronaldo and Erik ten Hag at Manchester United.
On 18 Feb 2026 GMT+7, Steve McClaren, former assistant coach of the "Red Devils" Manchester United, the prominent Premier League club, spoke out to reveal the deeper reasons behind the rift between Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo and the Dutch former manager Erik ten Hag.
Steve McClaren said, "I once told Cristiano Ronaldo that what Erik ten Hag wanted from him was to be the one to start pressing runs — do that once or twice, maybe a third time if he wished, then drop back to the middle in case we win the ball and can pass it to him. That was all he wanted from Cristiano."
"But if you can’t do that, you won’t play. Or if you refuse, you just won’t be selected, okay? Ten Hag wouldn’t pick you. I’m telling you, he wouldn’t. Other coaches might not demand this from him, but Ten Hag asked Cristiano Ronaldo to do it. If he wanted to play, he had to. But when he didn’t, that’s what happened."