Ronaldo, widely considered one of the greatest players to have kicked a ball after netting 895 goals for club and country throughout his career.
Ronaldo’s switch back to Old Trafford from Juventus in 2021 was heralded as a fairytale and met with a celebratory reception by fans and former United players, but it quickly turned into a horror story as his move ended in explosive fashion.
The veteran forward went from being United’s top scorer in his first season to an outcast in the following campaign under Erik ten Hag, who dropped the Portuguese star from his side.
Ronaldo came under fire over his attitude during games – including storming off before the end of matches and refusing to come on as a substitute – before he pressed self-destruct by giving a tell-all interview to Piers Morgan, claiming he felt ‘betrayed’ by United and that he didn’t respect Ten Hag.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer reveals how Cristiano Ronaldo killed their style of play after his Man United return, as he admits the move ‘didn’t work’ and says problems with the star continued after he left the club.
Despite his positive first season from a personal standpoint, his old manager Solskjaer has revealed ‘complications’ that his high-profile move brought as he was forced to revamp his style of play, including the way the team pressed, while attempting to fit him into their set-up.
How Ronaldo killed our style of play – Solskjaer
Solskjaer, speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, said: ‘We started off straight away thinking how we are going to press and change the little tweaks.
‘Cristiano is different to Antony Martial who was up front, or whether we would play Mason [Greenwood] or Marcus [Rashford] up front. Edinson Cavani was the one that suffered the most when Cristiano came in – we’d played and got Edinson into a certain way of understanding the way we played.
‘With the ball, with him in the team, it was no problem. Without him [pressing], we had to change a little bit the different roles we’d gotten used to. We were one of the highest pressing teams before [Ronaldo joined]. We let Dan James go when Cristiano came in, and they’re two different types of players.’
Solskjaer added that Ronaldo’s passion was what United were after, but claimed the player’s attribute sometimes hindered the side.
‘Part of signing Cristiano Ronaldo was getting that passion from him, but that did have its complications,’ added Solskjaer.
‘You’ve got Mason Greenwood, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial, who can learn from Cristiano as he’s the best, the most disciplined and he’s been the best player in the world, and you think he’s going to help them.
‘When he arrived at the club, he told me to start him for three games in a row, and then put me on the bench for the fourth game, but he’s so passionate so when I did that, he didn’t like it.’
Solskjaer – who was sacked in November 2021 after a run of poor results, just months after Ronaldo’s return – admitted the move ultimately didn’t work out, but insisted that it felt like ‘the right decision at the time’.
‘It was a very quick decision,’ he added. ‘We didn’t think Cristiano was available and that he was going to move. When it became apparent that he was leaving Juventus, obviously there were other clubs that wanted him – but I was excited.
‘They [United] asked me, “Would you want us to try this?”. I said yes – obviously we know Cristiano is quality, and he’s 37, but we have to manage – he’s the best goal scorer in the world. It didn’t work out for me, it didn’t work out for Cristiano, but it was the right decision at the time.
While Ronaldo’s relationship with United turned stale towards the end, Solskjaer insists the two still have ‘loads of respect’ for each other.
‘When I was manager of Manchester United, I can’t remember too many problems from Cristiano Ronaldo. It was the game against Everton when he walked straight off the pitch after I brought him on as a substitute, but there were more problems with him after I had left the club,’ said Solskjaer.
‘I had a good relationship with Cristiano and there’s loads of respect between us. I think he behaved really well in his disappointments when I was there.’
