During Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s tenure as manager of Manchester United, the decision was made to bring Cristiano Ronaldo back to the club. Solskjaer has since admitted that this “turned out wrong.”

Acrimonious circumstances led to Ronaldo’s departure from United in August 2021, and he joined Al Nassri in Saudi Arabia just a little more than a year later. Ronaldo’s return to United in August 2021 did not live up to expectations, and he left the club.

Solskjaer stated these sentiments in an interview with The Athletic. “It was a decision that was very difficult to turn down and I felt that we needed to take it, but it turned out wrong,” Solskjaer added. “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].” “It felt so right when he signed, and the fans felt that at that Newcastle game.”

He continued to be one of the top goal scorers in the world, and he appeared to be in good shape.

The Norwegian remarked that he understands the strain that the current incumbent Erik ten Hag is under after having a terrible start to the season and that he has sympathy for him.

United has started their Champions League campaign with a difficult matchup against Bayern Munich later on Wednesday. The Red Devils have already lost three of their first five games in the Premier League.

Solskjaer, who was fired from his position as manager of the Old Trafford club in November 2021 after just under three years in command during a run of bad performances, stated that managing the club is especially difficult since parallels are inevitably made with Alex Ferguson’s trophy-laden time at the club. This led to Solskjaer’s dismissal.

“I have some understanding of what he is going through. “It’s a dream job, but it’s hard,” Solskjaer stated about his position.

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Solskjaer stated that it is difficult for United to sign the kind of players who in the past would have needed little convincing to join, and that the club has missed out on major targets such as Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane, and Declan Rice. Solskjaer added that United currently struggles to sign the kind of players who in the past would have needed little convincing to join.

“The expectations are very high, but we can’t live in the same era as when I played,” he added. “The expectations are very high.” In the latter stages of the game, Arsenal and Chelsea were our main competitors. Now, the majority of teams are flush with cash, and even those who aren’t in that position don’t have to sell.

“At the time, Wayne [Rooney] and Cristiano were among of the most promising young players, and we signed both of them. Now, United is in a position where they are unable to simply go out and get [Brighton striker] Evan Ferguson.

“I tried to get the club some players, but we weren’t able to afford them.” We had a strong interest in Jude Bellingham because he is the kind of player that Manchester United looks for, but I accept his decision to sign with Dortmund instead. That was most likely the prudent thing to do.

“Had it been up to me, I would have signed Kane any day of the week, and from what I gathered, he was eager to make the move. However, because of the financial limits imposed by COVID-19, the club did not have the budget necessary; there was no bottomless pit.

The closest that Solskjaer came to winning a trophy during his time as a coach at United was the 2021 Europa League final, which was ultimately a loss to Villarreal on penalties. A humiliating 4-1 loss to Watford nearly two years ago brought an end to his reign. Solskjaer has stated that he was aware that such a performance would lead to him losing his position as manager.

“Nobody told me, but I knew at half-time against Watford,” he added. “Nobody told me, but I knew.” We didn’t appear like a Manchester United team at all because our players weren’t running for each other. I informed the players that it was probably going to be the last time that we worked together and that they should play with pride at the halftime break.

We were on the verge of turning the game around when Harry Maguire was sent off.

This report was compiled with assistance from Reuters.