The veteran manager said tensions surfaced quickly as the Portugal international resisted Ten Hag’s tactical demands and ultimately the forward’s bitter departure from Old Trafford.
"Erik tried to impose his style and that’s why he had that fight with Ronaldo all the way through. I said to Erik, very early, ‘It’s you or him’," McClaren told the Athletic.
"Ronaldo was generally OK. But he didn’t want to do the job that Erik wanted him to do. Or didn’t feel he was capable of doing it.
“The instructions out of possession were, ‘Get into the middle, as soon as you’re back, you’re the first press, then double run, even a triple run now and again’. I used to say to Ronnie, ‘If you want to play, that’s what you’ve got to do’. He’d argue, ‘Ah, nobody wants to press’. I’d say, ‘Well, they’re all young lads, they can press’. I said, ‘You have to run, it’s simple, Ronnie. If you don’t, you don’t play’."