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Former Manchester United striker and manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has revealed that Kieran McKenna warned him against re-signing Cristiano Ronaldo in 2021.
Ronaldo made a heroic return to United in the summer of 2021, joining from Serie A giants Juventus.
He came back to the club 12 years after he first left to sign for Real Madrid. At the time, McKenna formed part of Solskjaer’s backroom staff.
Speaking to Norwegian outlet NRK, Solskjaer divulged that McKenna analysed Ronaldo’s last six matches in a Juventus shirt and warned against bringing him back to Old Trafford.
According to Solskjaer, McKenna harboured doubts about Ronaldo’s defensive capabilities and how these shortcomings would impact the team.
The club legend told NRK, “How are we going to defend ourselves? That’s the first thing he [McKenna] says.”
“It was probably a wrong choice for all of us. But we felt it was the right decision then and there.”
Ronaldo bagged nine goals in 13 appearances under Solskjaer, who was sacked a few months later. Meanwhile, Ronaldo left a year letter after the Red Devils terminated his contract.
McKenna stayed on as an assistant to Michael Carrick and Ralf Rangnick before departing to become Ipswich Town boss. He led the Tractor Boys to the Premier League and is set to come up against United on November 24, immediately after the ongoing international break.
In hindsight, McKenna was right and interestingly enough, it appears that new United head coach Ruben Amorim harboured the same concerns about Ronaldo. It’s believed that Amorim threatened to resign from his role at Sporting Lisbon if the Liga Portugal club explored the signing of Ronaldo.
Solskjaer insisted that he is proud of his time at United despite how it ended.
“I am proud of what I did. I have to say, I think it was a lot of good, and we were on our way to something very good. We came third and second, got a number of semi-finals, and unfortunately, we lost that final [against Villarreal].”
“That’s how I think about it, if we had won it, it could have been a completely different outcome.”
On what’s next for him, Solskjaer suggested he has effectively retired from football management but admitted he could be tempted back as a national team boss.
Regarding the prospect of stepping onto the international stage, he remarked, “I have reached a position where I can pick and choose, and I am lucky there. Financially, I don’t need anything.”
“It must be something exciting enough, together with the right people. But I feel so well now that there must be something that triggers me enough for me to choose to travel from Nordmore [in Norway].”
“I think that a national team could suit me, but then it can’t be on the other side of the globe.”
The 51-year-old explained that he’s rejected at least two job offers since departing United.
