Star footballer Cristiano Ronaldo had a bittersweet reunion with his former club Manchester United between 2021 and 2022. After spending 12 seasons away from the Red Devils, Ronaldo completed a big move from Juventus back to where he first found fame in footballing world for being the next best thing. After nine successful season with Real Madrid and winning the Ballon d'Or several times, Ronaldo moved from Real Madrid to Juventus in 2018. After Juventus failed to make a mark in UEFA Champions League, Ronaldo was looking for a way out and despite interest from Manchester City, he ended up signing for Manchester United. Although things ended rather badly from both him and the club as they had a fallout and Ronaldo ended his stay prematurely moving to Saudi club Al-Nassr.  Cristiano Ronaldo Reflects On His Target Of Scoring 1000 Career Goals After Winning Platinum Quinas 'Outstanding Ambassador of Portugal' Award at Quinas de Ouro Gala 2024.

Two years after Ronaldo's move to Al-Nassr, Manchester United's former manager Ole Gunner Solskjaer, under whom Ronaldo was signed, opened up on the thoughts the club had while bringing him back at the Old Trafford. Solskjaer revealed that Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna, who was part of his coaching team, had reservations about signing Ronaldo before the deal was finalised. Cristiano Ronaldo Reacts After Winning Platinum Quinas 'Outstanding Ambassador of Portugal' Award at the Quinas de Ouro Gala 2024, Says 'There is Still A Lot to Achieve' (See Post).

Speaking on a podcast with Norwegian outlet NRK, Solskjaer reflected on how McKenna analysed Ronaldo’s last six matches at Juventus after hearing about the potential transfer. However, after reviewing the footage at Carrington, McKenna suggested that United should have instead focused on strengthening a different area of the pitch. “How are we going to defend ourselves? That’s the first thing he says,” Solskjær recalled.  “It was probably a wrong choice for all of us. But we felt it was the right decision then and there.” Ronaldo scored 18 goals in the 2021-22 season, although Manchester United ended at the seventh place and Soskjaer ended up getting sacked.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 12, 2024 10:59 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).