Cristiano Ronaldo has claimed that Manchester United should have given Ole Gunnar Solskjaer more time instead of sacking the Old Trafford legend only four months after giving him a new contract.
Ronaldo returned to the club, opting against the advances of Manchester City in the process, under Solskjaer’s management – the two had previously been United teammates for four seasons.
Yet after a strong start to the 2021/22 campaign, United’s form badly dipped and the Norwegian was given his marching orders by November when a heavy loss against Watford was a fifth defeat in the space of just seven Premier League games.
“I love Solskjaer,” Ronaldo told TalkTV in an explosive interview that has dominated headlines around the world all week. “I think he was a top person, because what I keep inside my heart is the heart of the person, and for me Ole is a top person.
“Coach? Of course, he didn’t look for what he wants. It’s hard to assume after Sir Alex Ferguson, but I think he did a good job for sure and he needed more time.
“I don’t doubt that he will be a good coach in the future, but it was a good experience. I was so pleased to work for him, even though it was a short period.”
Ronaldo has also been incredibly critical of United’s decision to appoint Ralf Rangnick on in interim basis in the second half of last season, claiming the German was never the right choice.
“To sack Ole Solskjaer, you should bring a top manager, not sport director,” he said.
Ronaldo himself has ended up taking a lot of the blame for United’s struggles to meet their potential, claiming the media have targeted him because of his career success.
“It seems that the press want to put me on the first page because they know that they’ll sell more and the interest will be different,” Ronaldo said.
“I’m used to living like that, because at 37 I’ve learned that when you are down and on the top of the wave, you don’t realise and you don’t see things that you’ve seen before, which is to see which people is in your side in the bad moments and who criticises you more.
“They’re looking for that because they don’t like to see successful people, and I felt like in the last four of five months, not just for me but for my family, around the world the press criticises me even more. Sometimes I don’t understand why. Even Portuguese press, they criticise me a lot.”
