Ole Gunnar Solskjaer names Man Utd star who Cristiano Ronaldo made ‘suffer most’
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer sanctioned Cristiano Ronaldo’s return to Manchester United despite knowing it would negatively impact Edinson Cavani.
Ronaldo was brought back to United in blockbuster fashion in the summer of 2021 after he was made available by Juventus. United agreed to pay £12.8million for the then-36-year-old forward, taking a gamble on his enduring talent late in the summer transfer window.
He joined a squad which also contained Cavani, Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Mason Greenwood as attacking options for Solskjaer. The Norwegian manager had backed the club’s decision to bring back a player who had plundered 118 goals in 292 appearances for United between 2003 and 2009.
But going after Ronaldo is not as straightforward as agreeing to sign a talented striker; he also comes with an ego developed from years at the very top of the game. The Portuguese veteran’s return ruffled a few feathers in the United dressing room and didn’t work out for Solskjaer, who was sacked just three months later.
Solskjaer does not regret the decision, but admits the move came with compromises, like those made by Cavani, who had to give up the No.7 shirt for Ronaldo. “We started off straight away thinking how we are going to press and change the little tweaks,” Solskjaer said on the Stick to Football podcast. “Cristiano is different to Antony Martial who was up front, or whether we would play Mason or Marcus up front.
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“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. Cristiano – when you know him and speak to him, he wanted to play three out of four games, he realised he’s getting older as well. But when you leave him out once, he’s not happy!
“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. It was the right decision to make for me – it didn’t turn out to be the right one.”
Edinson Cavani gave up the No.7 shirt for Cristiano Ronaldo (Visionhaus/Getty Images)Cavani returned just two goals and one assist in 20 appearances over the 2021/22 season under Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick. He ended up leaving at the end of the campaign, with Ronaldo’s presence one of the factors involved in the decision.
Ronaldo brought with him an unflinching desire to be the best and win, but also a bluntness which caused some friction – especially when he was left on the bench. Solskjaer added: “Part of signing Cristiano Ronaldo was getting that passion from him, but that did have its complications. 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.”
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