Ten Hag: Ronaldo was ‘never the problem’ at Utd

Former Manchester United manager Erik Ten Hag has said that Cristiano Ronaldo was “never the problem” during his two-and-a-half year spell at Old Trafford.

Ronaldo rejoined Manchester United in 2021, and had an openly difficult relationship with Ten Hag, eventually leading to him leaving by mutual consent just a year later.

The Dutchman was sacked by United last October after a poor start to the 2024-25 season. He has since taken over over at Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen.

“For me he’s [Ronaldo] no problem. He was never the problem and I think that’s the past,” Ten Hag told reporters after Leverkusen’s 2-0 defeat to Chelsea in a friendly at Stamford Bridge on Friday.

“I think it was what happened. It’s the past and after that, we won two trophies at Manchester United. I wish him all the best for the for the future and I wish him the best of luck.”

Despite an acrimonious end to his time at United, Ten Hag led the club to two domestic trophies while at the helm — a Carabao Cup triumph in 2023 and an unlikely FA Cup win against rivals Manchester City in 2024.

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“You have to ask the club [on his trophy record appealing to Leverkusen], but for sure I love to win trophies and that is what I’m doing all my career and I want to keep this process going and that is my challenge with Leverkusen to do the same,” Ten Hag said.

“It’s not about Manchester United, that is closed. I’m looking forward and I’m really happy to be back. I’m really enjoying the last couple of weeks.

“We have a good club [Leverkusen], we have a good team and we will improve.”

Ten Hag’s first competitive fixture in charge of Leverkusen will come against SG Sonnenhof in the first round of the DFB Pokal on Aug. 15 before they take on TSG Hoffenheim in their Bundesliga opener a week later.