‘Erik Had His Philosophy’: Former Manchester United Assistant Coach Recalls Cristiano Ronaldo’s Fall-Out With Club

Former Manchester United assistant coach Benni McCarthy criticised head coach Erik ten Hag and the club for having “wasted a great opportunity” to utilise Cristiano Ronaldo in the right way. During his second stint at Old Trafford, Ronaldo had a fallout with Ten Hag. The Portuguese legend‘s contract was even terminated after he expressed his grievances in a bombshell interview with Piers Morgan. While talking about Ronaldo’s separation from the club, McCarthy told Zero Zero, “Yes, it was inevitable. In the end he left the club and chose Al Nassr. He is proving to everyone that he can still score goals.”

“If we work as a team and then let Cristiano do what he needs to do in his position, because he is the best in the world at it, that is ideal. I think Manchester United wasted a great opportunity to use Cristiano in the right way. But I was not the head coach and I could not be the one to make those decisions,” Benni McCarthy added.

Benni McCarthy claimed that Erik ten Hag had his own philosophy and he did not envision Cristiano Ronaldo being a part of the plan. “It wasn’t easy because Cristiano is a huge character. He has his own personality, his own maturity, and he wants a coach who understands him too. At a certain point, it’s true, things started not working out between them. Erik had his philosophy, his ideas and he didn’t see Cristiano being part of them,” he said.

“And that’s when problems started. Cristiano wasn’t happy when he wasn’t playing because he gave everything he could in training. He trains like I’ve never seen anyone train before. He’s an elite player in every way, even in his behaviour,” Benni McCarthy explained.

Benni McCarthy had spent two years as Erik ten Hag’s assistant at Manchester United. The ex-West Ham and Blackburn striker left Old Trafford this summer. Cristiano Ronaldo returned to Manchester United from Juventus in 2021 and scored 24 goals in his first season. Ronaldo’s second season at Manchester United came to a premature end. Ronaldo left Manchester and joined Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr.

Meanwhile, Erik ten Hag currently finds himself in a precarious situation after he failed to guide Manchester United to a win in the last three games across all competitions. Manchester United did not enjoy an impressive start to their Premier League journey having won two of their first six games. They are currently placed at the 13th spot on the Premier League points table.