Erik ten Hag has once again brought attention to his strained relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo, making strong statements about the final years of the Portuguese star’s career. The Dutch coach has a highly critical assessment of CR7’s recent period, claiming that his decline had begun much earlier than was thought.
In an interview with ESPN, ten Hag said that Ronaldo, despite his status as one of the greatest footballers in the history of the game, failed to maintain the same impact after leaving Real Madrid. According to him, the period at Juventus marked the beginning of the end for the most dominant version of the Portuguese striker.
“Without any misunderstanding, Ronaldo is a great footballer, among the best in the world. But the reality is that for the last seven or eight years he has not managed to give his best. From the time at Juventus, that was it for him,” the Dutch coach declared.
Ten Hag stressed that Ronaldo’s main problem was the difficulty in adapting to the needs of the team and in putting his individual qualities at the service of the collective.
“Every great team must know how to make use of its star, but the star himself must also be able to serve the team. That was exactly the problem with Ronaldo,” he said.
The former Manchester United manager also praised Real Madrid’s decision to part ways with the Portuguese in 2018. According to him, the Madrid club had realised in time that Ronaldo was losing his brilliance and could no longer offer the same level.