“I was f***ed” - Manchester United legend opens up on how ‘cocky’ Cristiano Ronaldo forced him into ‘injury hell’ at Old Trafford
Former Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer also spent 11 years at Old Trafford as a forward for the club. He was also a part of the team when a young Cristiano Ronaldo decided to join the Red Devils.
The two forwards played together at Old Trafford between 2003-06, with Solskjaer recollecting how Ronaldo's lack of desire to track back cost the Norwegian an injury.
Speaking in the new book Bring On United, Solskjaer said (via Mirror):
“We signed Cristiano. We could see that he was a massive talent and would become a superstar, but I was not going to step aside. I was stubborn, and my stubbornness killed me in one game against Wolves [August 2003, Old Trafford]. Cristiano was on the left. He played against Denis Irwin, then at Wolves."
The Norwegian forward continued:
“Cristiano didn’t get any change out of Denis, so he kept changing position to try and get away from him. Cristiano wasn’t tracking back as he should, so I ended up tracking his position and running more than I had done in any other game."
He added:
"I felt a sense of loyalty to the team. Towards the end, I was f****d. I should have asked to be subbed, but I thought, ‘this young cocky player is not going to be the reason that I ask to be subbed.'"
“Scholesy played a ball in behind for me to run onto. I cut inside and stretched but felt my thighs and legs give in. I could feel my thigh bone and my knee. But I cut inside and shot with my left, missed the target and then jogged off to get changed."
“That was the moment when I first f****d my knee up. That was the start of three years of injury hell. All because I wasn’t prepared for Man United to lose a game because a young player was not tracking back.”
Solskjaer registered 126 goals and 53 assists in 366 games for Manchester United, winning multiple Premier League titles and one UEFA Champions League.
Solskjaer later managed Cristiano Ronaldo as Manchester United head coach
The former Norwegian forward returned to Old Trafford as caretaker manager in December 2018. He had an impressive start to his campaign at the club, famously beating a star-studded Paris Saint-Germain side with a relatively young Manchester United team in the Champions League.
Solskjaer was given a full-time role in the summer of 2019 and he stayed in charge for the next two seasons. In 2021, the club also re-signed Cristiano Ronaldo under the tutelage of Solskjaer.
However, in November 2021, the Norwegian boss was relieved of his duties at Old Trafford after a poor run of form at the club. During his time at Manchester United, Solskjaer took the team to a Europa League final while also finishing second in the league in the 2020-21 season.