'Brining back Ronaldo was a mistake'

When Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was sacked in November 2021 after a humiliating defeat from Watford (4-1), ‘good riddance’ was probably the most common phase from Manchester United fans. They wanted the title, they though that the squad is good and that only the Norwegian was the ‘weak link’. But now, at the start of the new season, when they have even stronger squad but only two wins, a few of them might think that it was not all Solskjaer’s fault. And the former coach thinks like that too.

Ole Gunnar gave his first big interview since leaving Old Trafford almost two years ago. Still without a job, the Norwegian finally talked about his time spent as a coach and releveled some ‘behind the scene’ truths. For example, he admitted that Cristiano Ronaldo’s second return to the club was a mistake, and that other’s players egos were eventually the reason behind his sacking. Solskjaer also revealed that some players rejected the opportunity to be United's captain and 'weren't as good as their own perception of themselves.' While not naming any names, Solskjaer hinted that some refused to train in order to force exits from the club. But, he started with Ronaldo.

“It was a decision that was very difficult to turn down and I felt we had to take it, but it turned out wrong. It felt so right when he signed and the fans felt that at that Newcastle game, when Ronaldo scored twice in a 4-1 win. He was still one of the best goalscorers in the world, he was looking strong. When you have a group you need everyone to pull in the same direction. When things didn't go right, you could see certain players and egos came out” revealed Solskjaer in an interview with The Athetic.

Ten Hag accused of favoring his son's football agency

And then he was sacked after his fifth defeat in seven games. What is worse, it was against Watford 4-1, and the Norwegian revealed that he knew he will be sacked and told that to the players at half-time.

“Nobody told me that I was going to lose my job, but I knew at half-time against Watford. We didn’t look like a Man United team; the players weren’t running for each other. At half-time, I told the players it was probably going to be the last time we worked together and to play with pride. We almost turned it around, until Harry Maguire got sent off. 'I got a text message the next morning from Ed Woodward saying he needed to see me in his office at Carrington. That was pretty hard when you’ve been at the club for 18 years with all those good and bad times. I’d had lots of backing and good times with Ed. He’d given me the chance and for that, I’ll always be grateful. It was an emotional day. Very emotional. I didn’t think it would be, but it was like leaving your family” said Solskjaer.

Ronaldo's 'massively high standards' were a problem in Manchester

The Norwegian was indeed out, and in came Ralf Rangnick as an interim manager and Solskjaer talked to him and told him what was on his mind.

“The club he found in November 2021 was different from September 2021. I told him when I gave my opinion on every player. Things had soured, the collective had been lost and that's not Man United, where teams are built on the collective. Some players felt they should've played more and weren't constructive to the environment. That's a huge sin for me” explained former United boss.

Solskjaer called United over Haaland back in 2017

During his tenure at the club, Solskjar also had his eyes on a couple of players, but cited financial reasons for not bringing them in. The most famous is his countryman Erling Haaland, and Solskjaer warned United about him a long time ago, but nothing happened. And now he named his other favorite targets which didn’t come to Old Trafford.  

“Declan Rice, who wouldn't have cost what he did in the summer. We discussed Moises Caicedo, but we felt we needed players ready for there and then. Brighton are very good at letting players come from abroad and find their feet for a year and a half. At United, you don't have that luxury and that has cost the club loads of players. We wanted Jude Bellingham badly - he's a Man United player, but I respect he chose Dortmund. That was probably sensible. 'I would have signed Harry Kane every day of the week and my understanding was that he wanted to come. But the club didn't have the budget with the financial constraints from Covid-19” explained the Norwegian.

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 1

Tuesday

Milan - Newcastle 0-0

Young Boys - RB Leipzig 1-3 (1-1)

/Elia 33 - Simakan 3, Xaver 73, Sesko 92/

Feyenoord - Celtic 2-0 (1-0)

/Stengs 45, Jahanbakhsh 76/

Lazio - Atl.Madrid 1-1 (0-1)

/Provedel 90+5 -Barrios 29/

PSG - Dortmund 2-0 (0-0)

/Mbappe 49(p), Hakimi 58/

Man.City - Crvena Zvezda 3-1 (0-1)

/Alvarez 46, 60, Rodri 73 - Bukari 45/

Barcelona - Antwerp 5-0 (3-0)

/Felix 11, 66, Lewandowski 19, Battaile 26(og), Gavi 54/

Shakhtar - Porto 1-3 (1-3)

/Kelsy 13 - Galeno 8, 15, Taremi 29/

Wednesday

19.45: (1.63) Galatasaray (4.00) Copenhagen (6.25)

19.45: (1.40) Real Madrid (5.00) Union Berlin (9.00)

22.00: (1.58) Bayern (4.30) Man.Utd. (6.25)

22.00: (1.40) Arsenal (5.30) PSV (8.00)

22.00: (1.95) Sevilla (3.60) Lens (4.20)

22.00: (4.50) Braga (3.60) Napoli (1.90)

22.00: (1.45) Benfica (4.80) Salzburg (8.00)

22.00: (3.20) Sociedad (3.40) Inter (2.40)

***odds are subject to change