- Man United beat off competition from Man City to sign Cristiano Ronaldo in 2021
- Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says the Portuguese star had a bad effect on the dressing room
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Former Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has revealed that the decision to sign Cristiano Ronaldo from Juventus in 2021 was a mistake. He admitted that they did this to prevent him from joining Manchester City.
The Red Devils staged a fairytale comeback for the Portuguese forward, who had initially left for Real Madrid on an £80million contract in 2009 after beating off competition from Pep Guardiola.
The veteran enjoyed a fantastic first season in the Premier League, scoring 24 goals in 18 games in all competitions.
But Ronaldo went from United’s talisman under Solskjaer to an outcast under his successor Erik ten Hag, who repeatedly left him out of his starting XI before the legendary five-time Ballon d’Or winner came under fire for leaving Old Trafford early stormed. before the end of the matches.
Amid huge speculation, Ronaldo could end his spell early and force self-destruction by taking part in a sensational tell-all interview with Piers Morgan in November 2022, where he claimed he felt ‘betrayed’ by the club – saying he ‘didn’t do that’. respect’ Ten Hag.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has revealed that the decision to sign Cristiano Ronaldo in 2021 was a mistake
The Red Devils staged a fairytale comeback for Ronaldo after beating competition from Man City
Solskjaer says the Portuguese forward would have scored more goals than Erling Haaland if he joined City
Looking back, Solskjaer says Ronaldo ‘would have scored more goals than Erling Haaland’ if he had gone to the Etihad.
The Norwegian manager also added that Ronaldo’s arrival had an impact on United’s dressing room as some players ‘felt less important’.
Solskjaer said: “Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the best players in the world over the last 15 years. I played with him. He played for Manchester United. He has history at the club and he is going to leave Juventus, but we cannot give him to Manchester City because he will probably score more goals than Erling Haaland is doing at the moment.
‘So I’m speaking to Cristiano. We’ll bring him to Man United, but I think that might have affected the whole dressing room, the dynamics in the dressing room.
‘Maybe other players felt less important, because this is obviously one of the world superstars coming in.
‘He did well. He was top scorer that year, scored 24 goals or something, but ten weeks later I was out of a job!’
Solskjaer was a popular figure at United after stabilizing the club following Jose Mourinho’s turbulent reign, but failed to improve United as a whole before being initially replaced by Ralf Rangnick, and when Ten Hag took charge the following summer .
The Norwegian boss also claims Ronaldo had a negative effect on United’s dressing room
Ronaldo, meanwhile, agreed to leave United by mutual consent midway through his second season, just weeks after his explosive interview, with the club confirming the news in a 67-word statement.
Just over a month later, Ronaldo would land an eye-watering £175m-a-year deal with Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr – kicking off a revolution of high-profile players to join him in the country’s top division for enormous sums of money. money.