Former Manchester United manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has admitted that signing Cristiano Ronaldo for the club was a wrong decision.
Late in the 2021 summer transfer window, the 39-year-old returned to Old Trafford amid rumors he might sign with their city rivals, Manchester City.
Despite Ronaldo’s stellar 24 goals in his first season back at United, the team was unable to contend for any trophy. And Solskjaer was fired a few months after the agreement was reached.
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“It was a very quick decision,” the Norwegian told Sky Bet’s Stick To Football podcast as echoed by Evening Standard. “We didn’t think Cristiano was available and that he was going to move.
“When it became apparent that he was leaving Juventus, obviously there were other clubs that wanted him – but I was excited. [United] asked me, ‘Would you want us to try this?’. I said yes – obviously we know Cristiano is quality, and he’s 37.
“But we have to manage – he’s the best goal scorer in the world. It didn’t work out for me, it didn’t work out for Cristiano, but it was the right decision at the time.”
Ultimately, though, Ronaldo’s contribution to the team was not successfully realized by Solskjaer or his successors.
Before Ronaldo eventually left for Al-Nassr 18 months after he rejoined, the club legend has described how he was forced to change his tactical approach. To the disadvantage of teammates like Edinson Cavani with little to show for it.
“We started off straight away thinking how we are going to press and change the little tweaks,” Solskjaer continued.
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“Cristiano is different to Antony Martial who was up front, or whether we would play Mason [Greenwood] or Marcus [Rashford] up front.
“Edinson Cavani was the one that suffered the most when Cristiano came in – we’d played and got Edinson into a certain way of understanding the way we played.”
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