Cristiano Ronaldo return was 'wrong decision' for Man Utd as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer reveals Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna warned him not to sign Portugal star

Ronaldo returned to United from Juventus in 2021 while Solskjaer was in charge as the Red Devils made a late move to prevent the five-time Ballon d'Or winner joining bitter rivals Manchester City. He went on to score 24 goals in his first season back but was labelled one of the reasons for Solskjaer's team failing to get results, with the Norwegian legend eventually sacked early into the following campaign.

Fans and pundits have often discussed that Ronaldo was forced down Solskjaer's throat by the Red Devils' top brass after the season had already started with a set plan in mind, as they wanted to trump City and win a battle of egos with their rivals. Solskjaer has now revealed that he was warned by current Ipswich Town boss McKenna, who was in the Norwegian's backroom team at the team.

Speaking on Norwegian media outlet NRK's podcast, Solskjaer revealed McKenna's hesitance at Ronaldo's incorporation in the squad after analyzing the Portugal captain's matches while at Juventus.

Solskjaer said: "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."

Since his sacking from United almost three years ago, Solskjaer has not accepted a coaching role as he waits for the right job. The former striker said that he will remember his time as United boss with immense pride, adding: "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."