Former Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has admitted that re-signing Cristiano Ronaldo didn’t work out for him at Old Trafford as it totally changed the way he needed his team to play.
Solskjaer had been showing some promising signs as Man Utd manager, but the Red Devils legend endured a nightmare end to his time in charge of the club, with some big defeats against the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City and Watford.
Ronaldo made the surprise move back to United a few months before Solskjaer was sacked, and although it would have been hard not to sign the Portugal international given his legendary status at Old Trafford, it’s clear that his age at the time made it a risky deal.
Speaking on The Overlap on YouTube, Solskjaer admitted that his side had been a very strong pressing side until Ronaldo joined, with the veteran forward no longer at that point of his career where he could run around enough, even if he clearly remained a world class goal threat.
Solskjaer explains Man United tactical struggle with Ronaldo
“It didn’t work out for me, it didn’t work out for Cristiano, but it was the right decision at the time,” Solskjaer said.
“With the ball, with him in the team, it was no problem. Without him (pressing), we had to change a little bit the different roles we’d gotten used to. We were one of the highest pressing teams before (Ronaldo joined).”
Solskjaer always looked a slightly risky appointment for MUFC given his lack of experience, but it did seem like he might have been taking things in a positive direction at first, and it’s also not exactly like his successor Erik ten Hag has set the world alight since taking over.
Going back, would you say United shouldn’t have signed Ronaldo when they did? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!