Ole Gunnar Solskjaer discloses why Man Utd re-signed Cristiano Ronaldo

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has revealed that Manchester United re-signed Cristiano Ronaldo primarily to prevent their rivals from acquiring him.

The Portuguese forward made a highly anticipated return to Old Trafford in the summer of 2021, rejoining the club he left 12 years earlier for a then-world record transfer to Real Madrid.

However, United were not the only team interested in Ronaldo; their neighbours, Manchester City, were also pursuing him and seemed close to finalizing a deal.

In a surprising turn, United acted quickly to secure Ronaldo, swooping in just ahead of their rivals.

Former United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has now confirmed that Man City’s interest played a significant role in the decision to bring Ronaldo back to Manchester.

He also acknowledged that the veteran forward would likely have thrived at the Etihad Stadium.

Speaking at the Oslo Business Forum, he said: “Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the best players in the world the last 15 years.

“I played with him.

“He played for Manchester United.

“He has history with the club and he’s leaving Juventus but we can not give him to Manchester City because he will score more goals than Erling Haaland is doing at the moment probably.

“So I speak to Cristiano.

“We get him to Man United but I think maybe that affected the whole dressing room, the dynamic in the dressing room.

“Maybe other players felt less important because of course this is one of the world superstars that comes in.

“He did well. He was top scorer that year, scored 24 goals or something, but I was out of the job 10 weeks later!”

Cristiano Ronaldo had a productive first season with Manchester United, scoring 24 goals in all competitions.

However, his performance declined in the following campaign, netting just three goals as he fell out of favour under manager Erik ten Hag.

The striker ultimately left the club for Al-Nassr after his contract was cancelled following an explosive interview with Piers Morgan.

In a previous statement, Ole Gunnar Solskjær acknowledged that bringing Ronaldo back might have been a mistake.

He said as quoted by The Athletic: “It was a decision that was very 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 that Newcastle game, when Old Trafford was rocking [after Ronaldo scored twice in a 4-1 win].

“He was still one of the best goalscorers in the world, he was looking strong.”

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