06 March 2024 , 08:00
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Former Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has revealed players turned down the captaincy during his time in charge.
Solskjaer returned to United in 2018 as caretaker boss after Jose Mourinho was sacked, and he was given the job on a permanent basis three months later after an impressive start. The former striker was then sacked in November 2021 after three years in charge and has not managed another club since.
And in an appearance on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet, Solskjaer has opened up about his time in charge and labelled some United players "petty" for refusing to captain the club.
"No one said 'No' to being the club captain, it was just for certain games," he revealed. And when asked if players specifically told him they did not want the armband for particular matches, he explained: "Yes, but they didn't want to say it themselves.
"They had other people come up to me and say it. It was disappointing. It's a different generation, it's Gen Z. It's petty and shows a lack of ambition."
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However, former United captain Gary Neville rejected Solskjaer's claim it was "petty" to turn down the armband, instead suggesting the players in question "must be in a bad place" to have made that decision.
"It makes me feel worried for them [the players] in the sense that, what state of mind are they in to actually turn down one of the greatest accolades you could have? I don't think of it being weak, they must be in a bad place to be shrinking [from the responsibility]," Neville said.
Solskjaer has claimed some players refused to take on the captaincy in certain games (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)Solskjaer also claimed certain players were "scared" of doing pre-match interviews, suggesting they were "worried about the questions" they would be asked. He added: "Many players said no to doing the pre-match interviews, the three questions.
"You had the go-to's, Bruno [Fernandes] always did it, Harry [Maguire] always did it, Victor [Lindelof] did it, David [De Gea] did it, Luke Shaw did it. The others were worried about the questions, so preferred not to do it.
"You're scared of the whole reaction maybe, but you also understand some of the players' mental health."
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