Cristiano Ronaldo has been making waves with his recent speech at the ‘Quinas de Ouro’ award ceremony, hinting at his impending retirement and the possibility of it happening before he reaches 1,000 goals. However, today it was one of his former coaches, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who took the spotlight. Solskjaer, who managed Ronaldo during his time at Manchester United, opened up about their time together.
The Portuguese striker made his return to England from Juventus, and it seemed like the perfect reunion. The price was right at €17 million, and Ronaldo had just come off an impressive season with 36 goals for Juventus. Unfortunately, the dream quickly turned into a nightmare as the talent-churning machine that is Manchester United put an end to the fairy tale after just a season and a half. Solskjaer admitted in an interview with Norwegian media outlet NRK that it may not have been the right move: “It was probably the wrong decision for all of us, but we felt at the time that it was the right decision.”
Solskjaer had previously mentioned the impact Ronaldo had on the team during an interview with Gary Neville. He said, “With him, we had no problem with the ball, but we had to change the different roles that we had become accustomed to in the press. We were one of the teams that pressed the most before he arrived.” It seems that Ronaldo’s arrival disrupted the dynamics of the team and made other players feel less important.
Interestingly, Ronaldo was on the verge of joining Manchester City before everything fell apart with the arrival of Erik Ten Hag. Solskjaer even commented on this possibility a few months ago, saying, “He is one of the best players in the world in the last 15 years. If he had signed for City, he would have scored more goals than Haaland.” It’s clear that Solskjaer holds Ronaldo in high regard and recognizes his immense talent.
Speaking of Haaland, the young Norwegian striker is now captaining his national team following Martin Odegaard’s injury. However, their first match with Haaland as captain didn’t go as planned, as Norway suffered a 5-1 defeat against Austria. Despite this setback, Solskjaer believes that Haaland has the personality and potential to succeed in the role.
Looking ahead, Solskjaer sees himself ready for a national team position. Although he hasn’t been contacted by England following Gareth Southgate’s dismissal, he believes that he could have a future in international football. It will be interesting to see where Solskjaer’s coaching career takes him next and how Ronaldo’s retirement plans unfold.
