Former Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer regrets bringing Cristiano Ronaldo back to the club. The Norwegian soccer manager, in recent statements, has gone back to the time when legendary number seven rejoined the club.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said, “Bringing Cristiano Ronaldo back was a decision that was difficult to turn down, and I felt we had to take it, but it turned out wrong”. He further hinted back to the time when CR7 played his first game after rejoining the club and scored against Newcastle United at the Old Trafford Stadium.
Solskjær: “Bringing Cristiano Ronaldo back was a decision that was difficult to turn down and I felt we had to take it, but it turned out wrong”. 🔴🇵🇹
“It felt so right when he signed and the fans felt that at Newcastle game, when Old Trafford was… rocking!”, via The Athletic. pic.twitter.com/9VRK2egnmJ
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 20, 2023
Cristiano Ronaldo left the club in 2022, via mutual consent. Things didn’t quite work out for the veteran during his second stint with Manchester United. Despite being among the goals for the club, whenever he got a chance in the Premier League, there were some issues in the background that made him unhappy.
The number seven fell out of favor with the managers who joined United during his time. His disappointment was spotted when he was left out of the starting eleven on some occasions. More so against some of the top six cubs, where one expects him to start.
After Ole Gunnar Solskjaer left the club, the 38-year-old was not pleased with then-appointed United manager Ralf Rangnick. However, when Erik ten Hag joined United, things also didn’t change for the Portuguese. There were also reports of problems in the Red Devil’s dressing room. This was because Erik ten Hag and his Portuguese forward weren’t always on a similar page regarding their opinions.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer managed the Red Devils for a total of a hundred and forty-nine matches. There was initial pressure building on him due to the team’s poor performance. He was finally sacked after United fell to a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Watford in November 2021.
Performance stats for Cristiano Ronaldo under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Manchester United
Under the reign of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, CR7 did well at Manchester United. Playing under the Norwegian, the Portuguese started twelve out of his thirteen games at the club. The number seven boosted an impressive nine goals tally to his name. Further, his two assists in these outings took his goal contribution tally to eleven.
The player started most of the time when he played under Solskjaer. This was a rare thing for him during his second spell at Manchester United, as managers after Solskjaer did make him sit on the bench quite a few times. His goal contributions also signal the fact that he was clicking for the manager and the team at that time.