Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, former Manchester United manager, recently shared insights on his experience signing Cristiano Ronaldo in 2021, highlighting a warning from his then-assistant, Kieran McKenna, who is now the Ipswich Town manager.
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Ronaldo’s return brought excitement to fans, yet McKenna expressed concerns about potential defensive impacts, questioning, “How are we going to defend ourselves?” after analyzing Ronaldo’s recent performances at Juventus.
Solskjaer admitted, “It was probably a wrong choice for all of us. But we felt it was the right decision then and there.”
During Solskjaer’s tenure, which lasted from December 2018 to November 2021, Manchester United saw some positive moments, finishing third and second in the league.
Reflecting on his time, Solskjaer commented, “I am proud of what I did. We were on our way to something very good, even reaching several semi-finals.” Unfortunately, his time ended without trophies, and he was replaced by interim manager Ralf Rangnick, followed by Erik ten Hag.
Despite Ronaldo’s later criticisms of Ten Hag and Rangnick, he spoke highly of Solskjaer after his departure, praising his character in an interview with Piers Morgan.
Ronaldo stated, “I love Solskjaer…Ole, for me, is a top person…It’s hard to assume [the role] after Sir Alex Ferguson, but I think he did a good job.”
