Former Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has admitted that the club’s decision to sign Cristiano Ronaldo was ultimately a wrong one, despite it feeling initially “so right.”
Manchester United signed Ronaldo from Juventus in August 2021, and the Portuguese international went on to score 24 goals in 38 matches in all competitions during his return to the club.
However, there were persistent rumors of discontent with his situation, which came to a head in November of the following year when Ronaldo gave a controversial interview to Piers Morgan. As a result, Manchester United mutually terminated his contract that month, and Ronaldo subsequently moved to Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr. The Red Devils replaced him with loan-signing Wout Weghorst in January.
Solskjaer, despite Ronaldo’s strong start upon his return to Old Trafford, believes that Manchester United made the wrong decision to re-sign him, citing issues with the group of players failing to “pull in the same direction.”
Solskjaer said, “It was a decision that was very difficult to turn down, and I felt we had to take it, but it turned out wrong.” He explained that it felt right at the time of Ronaldo’s signing, particularly after a game against Newcastle where Ronaldo scored twice in a 4-1 win.
However, Solskjaer mentioned that the fixture list presented a challenging period, including matches against top teams like Manchester City, Liverpool, Tottenham, Leicester, Chelsea, and Arsenal, as well as Champions League games. When results didn’t go their way, Solskjaer noted that certain players and egos began to emerge, causing issues within the team dynamic.
