Ole Gunnar Solskjaer names the one person at Man United who raised concerns about re-signing Cristiano Ronaldo… as he now admits it was the ‘wrong choice’ to bring him back

Former Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has revealed a former member of staff who raised concerns over the re-signing of Cristiano Ronaldo in the summer of 2021.

Solskjaer spent three years in charge at Old Trafford, losing his job in November 2021 after an embarrassing 4-1 defeat at the hands of Watford, who went on to get relegated at the end of the season.

Just two months before his sacking, the Norweigan pulled off a major coup by bringing his former team-mate Ronaldo back to the Red Devils for £19.8million at the age of 35.

Despite a dream start to his return, scoring twice in his second debut against Newcastle, Ronaldo’s move proved to be a failure as the five-time Ballon d’Or winner saw his contract terminated in November 2022 after a falling out with Erik ten Hag.

Three years on from his sacking, Solskjaer has admitted that current Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna – who was part of the Norweigan’s backroom staff – had reservations about bringing Ronaldo in before a deal was struck.

Solskjaer (pictured after his final game) was sacked in November 2021 after a loss to Watford

The Norweigan boss has revealed his old assistant Kieran McKenna was unsure about bringing Ronaldo back to Old Trafford

While on a podcast with Norweigan media outlet NRK, Solskjaer explained how he remembers McKenna analysing six of Ronaldo’s last matches with Juventus after being told about the potential signing.

However, after returning from the analysis room at Carrington, McKenna suggested that a different area of the pitch was more of a worry for the Red Devils.

‘How are we going to defend ourselves? That’s the first thing he says,’ Solskjaer recalled.

In hindsight, the ex-United boss, who scored 126 goals for the club as a player, believes the club made a mistake in bringing Ronaldo back to the club.

He continued: ‘It was probably a wrong choice for all of us. But we felt it was the right decision then and there.’

The 51-year-old failed to deliver silverware at Old Trafford, only guiding the club to a solitary final over the course of his three-year stay.

It came in 2021 as United came up against Villarreal in a bid to lift the Europa League in front of a measly 9,000 people at the Gdansk Stadium in Poland.

It would end in pain when Solskjaer’s were beaten by the Spanish side – then led by serial Europa League winner Unai Emery – 11-10 on penalties after playing out a 1-1 draw.

Ronaldo’s second stint at United lasted little over a year as his contract was terminated in 2022

Solskjaer never won a trophy as United boss, losing the 2021 Europa League final to Villarreal

However, despite Solskjaer’s time at his beloved Man United not ending with success, he still looks back on his three years as boss with immense pride.

‘I am proud of what I did,’ explained Solskjaer. ‘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, got a number of semi-finals, and unfortunately, we lost that final [against Villarreal].

‘That’s how I think about it, if we had won it, it could have been a completely different outcome.’