Ole-Gunnar Solskjaer was asked on ‘The Overlap’ what he would change from his time at Manchester United and he had no doubts. He said that, at the time, the “right thing to do” was to sign Cristiano Ronaldo because it was an opportunity, but he believes that, after what he experienced at Old Trafford, it would have been better for both parties if he had never returned to Manchester.
Former Manchester United manager Ole-Gunnar Solskjaer was responsible for bringing Cristiano Ronaldo back to United after his time at Juventus. The one-time manager and mastermind behind his signing admitted in a chat with ‘The Overlap’ that, if he would change anything about his time at Old Trafford, it would be the Portuguese’s arrival because of how it ended for both parties.
“I’ve thought about it a lot, obviously. The right thing to do was to sign Cristiano, but I think it would have been better for him and for us if he hadn’t signed. That’s the headline,” he said aware of the significance of his words.
He also stopped by another podcast, ‘Stick to Football’, and there he also addressed the subject of the Portuguese. “When he arrived, he told me to start him three games in a row and put him on as a substitute in the fourth. But he’s so passionate that when I did, he didn’t like it,” he revealed.
He confessed that the one who suffered the worst when Ronaldo arrived in Manchester was Cavani: “He is the one who suffered the most. We played and made Edison understand a style of football and then it changed.
“When the team had the ball there was no problem. Without him in the pressing, we had to change a bit the roles we were used to. We were one of the teams with the most pressing before his arrival,” he said.
He explained why they went for his signature: “We wanted that passion that he transmits, but it had its difficulties. It didn’t work out for me and it didn’t work out for him either, but it was the right decision.