Former Manchester United coach, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has blamed Cristiano Ronaldo and other old players for his sacking by the club.
He admitted ‘it was very difficult to turn down’ the chance to bring Cristiano Ronaldo back to Manchester United, telling The Athletic the decision ‘turned out wrong’ as ‘egos’ within his squad cost him his job.
The Portuguese star returned for a second spell at Old Trafford in August 2021 but Solskjaer was fired as manager just three months later.
The Norwegian coach had to fit Ronaldo into his team despite not giving the green light for his return.
Solskjaer, who hasn’t taken another management job in almost two years since his dismissal, said egos caused a disastrous run of results that cost him his position.
‘It was a decision that was very difficult to turn down and I felt we had to take it, but it turned out wrong,’ Solskjaer told The Athletic of Ronaldo’s return.
‘It felt so right when he signed and the fans felt that at that Newcastle game, when Old Trafford was rocking [Ronaldo scored twice in a 4-1 win].
‘He was still one of the best goalscorers in the world, he was looking strong.
‘When you have a group you need everyone to pull in the same direction. When things didn’t go right, you could see certain players and egos came out.’
”The club he found in November 2021 was different from September 2021,’ Solskjaer added.
‘I told him when I gave my opinion on every player. Things had soured, the collective had been lost and that’s not Man United, where teams are built on the collective.
‘Some players felt they should’ve played more and weren’t constructive to the environment. That’s a huge sin for me.’