“Don’t ask!”
Before he became care-taker and then full-time manager of Manchester United, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer picked up some experience as boss of Molde.
During his time with the Norwegian side, he gave a senior debut to a 16-year-old Erling Haaland. The striker scored four goals in his first season with the senior side then netted 16 times in 30 games, the following season.
It was around that time that Solskjaer was speaking with officials at United, and recommended that they pay £4 million to secure Haaland on a long-term deal.
United opted not to contest Red Bull Salzburg came in for Haaland, with the deal [after add-ons] coming to £7 million. Comments from Solskjaer, reported by The Athletic, read:
“Jose Mourinho was the manager at Old Trafford at the time. Ed Woodward was the chief executive and, for reasons unexplained, United chose against signing the player who has now smashed all sorts of scoring records for [Manchester] City this season and could conceivably win the Ballon d’Or.
“I got in contact with United because we had this talented striker who they should have had. But they didn’t listen, unfortunately. Four million, I asked for. But they never signed him. Four million! Don’t ask [where he is now]!”
As we all know now, Erling Haaland has broken the Premier League season goalscoring record with 35 goals in 32 games, and has scored 51 goals in total for City.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on the Glazer family
The former Manchester United manager has also come out against the Red Devils’ owners.
The Glazer family, who first took over the club all the way back in 2005, have been much-maligned in recent seasons by fans of the club who feel that the once auspicious aura of Manchester United is slipping away under their stewardship (or lack off).
Speaking at an event in Manchester, on Friday evening, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer discussed his time at the club in great detail, and also referenced his thoughts on the side’s current issues.
The main topic of conversation though was undoubtedly the Glazer family, who have been the subject of ardent protests this season from United fans.
When asked about the potential for the club to change ownership in the coming months, the Norwegian remarked, “It needs to be done.”
“Old Trafford is neglected. The training ground has been neglected. We need to catch up with the other teams.”
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