Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has spoken about his decision to re-sign Cristiano Ronaldo while Manchester United manager and confirmed what many fans have always suspected about his Old Trafford return.
Ronaldo made his name in football during his first spell at United after joining from Sporting Lisbon in 2003 for more than £12 million as David Beckham’s replacement.
The Portuguese went on to win three Premier League titles, the Champions League and the Ballon d’Or under Sir Alex Ferguson’s management, before moving to Real Madrid in 2009 for a then world-record transfer fee of £80 million.
After nearly a decade at the Santiago Bernabeu, which yielded two La Liga crowns, four more Champions League titles and a further quartet of Ballon d’Ors, Ronaldo made the switch to Juventus.
Following a €100 million switch to the Italian side and a pair of Serie A titles, Ronaldo completed an emotional return to United in the summer of 2021 and reunited with his former teammate Solskjaer during the Norwegian’s turbulent spell as United boss.
However, Ronaldo’s second United stint did not go anywhere near as well as his first spell and, under subsequent boss Erik ten Hag, the attacker’s time at Old Trafford came to an abrupt end after Ronaldo’s explosive interview with Piers Morgan in which he criticised several aspects of how the club was being run.
Ronaldo left United after his contract was terminated by mutual consent and the now 39-year-old subsequently joined Saudi Pro League side Al Nassr.
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Solskjaer left United in November 2021 after a poor run of results and the Norwegian has now spoken on Ronaldo re-signing for the Old Trafford club, making an admission that many Reds supporters had their suspicions over.
United made the move to bring Ronaldo back to stop him joining fierce rivals Manchester City but Solskjaer believes the Portuguese’s return potentially changed the dynamics within the Old Trafford dressing room and that other players in the squad felt less important as a result.
Speaking at the Oslo Business Forum, Solskjaer said: “Cristiano, one of the best players in the world in the last 15 years, I played with him, he played for Manchester United, he had history with the club, and he’s leaving Juventus but we cannot give him to Manchester City.
“He will score more goals that Erling Haaland is doing at the moment, probably.
“I spoke to Cristiano, we get him to Man United, but I think that maybe affected the whole dressing room, the dynamics in the dressing room, and maybe other players felt less important because of course this is one of the world’s superstars that comes in.
“He did well, he was top scorer that year, he scored 24 goals or something, but I was out of a job 10 weeks later.”
Solskjaer has not returned to football management since his departure from United though has made clear that he would welcome the possibility of returning to Old Trafford, while Ronaldo’s current Al Nassr contract expires next year as things currently stand.”