Former Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has shared that Kieran McKenna had advised him against signing Cristiano Ronaldo in 2021. Ronaldo rejoined United from Juventus while Solskjaer was in charge, as the club moved swiftly to prevent the five-time Ballon d’Or winner from signing with rivals Manchester City. Despite Ronaldo scoring 24 goals in his first season back, he was criticized for being a factor in United’s struggles, with Solskjaer ultimately being dismissed early the following season.
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Both fans and analysts have frequently discussed that United’s leadership pushed Ronaldo’s return on Solskjaer after the season had already begun with a strategy in place, aiming to outdo City and assert their dominance. Solskjaer has now revealed that current Ipswich Town manager McKenna, who was part of his coaching staff, expressed reservations about adding Ronaldo to the squad after reviewing his performances at Juventus.
Speaking on the Norwegian podcast NRK, Solskjaer mentioned McKenna’s initial concern: “How are we going to defend ourselves? That’s the first thing he [McKenna] says. It was probably a wrong choice for all of us. But we felt it was the right decision then and there.”
Since leaving United nearly three years ago, Solskjaer has refrained from taking another coaching role as he waits for the right opportunity. Reflecting on his time as United manager, he said he remembers it with pride, noting, “I am proud of what I did. I have to say, I think it was a lot of good, and we were on our way to something very good. We came third and second, reached several semi-finals, and sadly lost that final [against Villarreal]. I believe that if we had won, things might have turned out very differently.”
