Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has revealed his true feelings on Manchester United’s current state in the 2024-25 season under Ruben Amorim and Erik ten Hag.
The 51-year-old Manchester United legend left Old Trafford in 2021 after he was sacked by the Red Devils amid the club’s poor start to the 2021-22 campaign.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer initially returned to United in 2018 after Jose Mourinho was axed as United manager before his appointment was made permanent in 2019.
Ralf Rangnick took over as interim manager at United after Solskjaer’s exit and he steered the ship until Erik ten Hag’s arrival from Dutch side Ajax in 2022.
Ten Hag, much like Jose Mourinho and Solskjaer, met the same fate as previous United managers in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era with his dismissal in 2024.
United managed only three Premier League wins and were 14th in the table at the time of Ten Hag’s sacking, following a 2-1 away defeat to at West Ham last October.
Solskjaer on Man Utd and new challenge
Ruben Amorim became the latest Manchester United manager in the Old Trafford hot seat after he succeeded Erik ten Hag last November.
United triggered the £9.25m release clause in Amorim’s Sporting CP contract, while Ruud van Nistelrooy was installed as interim manager after Ten Hag’s exit.
Ruud van Nistelrooy, who was assistant manager to Ten Hag, oversaw a four-match spell before he made his departure from United after Amorim’s arrival at the club.
Amorim has already experienced the highs and lows at United and the Red Devils languish in 13th place in the Premier League table after 22 matches played.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer finally made his long-awaited return to management after he took up the head coach role at Super Lig outfit Besiktas last week.
The former Red Devils boss admitted that he has been “following United” since he left and Solskjaer hinted that the main thing needed is to “turn the boat.”
Speaking to reporters, Solskjaer said: “You need to feel that heartbeat racing again, because [you ask] ‘do you have the energy?’ and the project that the president and the board have been talking to me about it was the right thing I needed now.
“I’ve been following United [since I left] and it’s difficult when it goes down. You need to just turn the boat and, hopefully, we can turn the boat quickly here.”
Solskjaer talks management return with Besiktas
Besiktas are sixth in the Super Lig and the Turkish side are a whopping 20 points adrift from league leaders Galatasaray in the 2024-25 campaign.
Solskjaer inked a deal with the Super Lig outfit until the end of the 2025-26 season, with a one-year extension for the 2026-27 campaign included in his deal.
“I’ve been outside football for a little while, as a boss,” he said, as per ESPN.
“But I’ve been working in UEFA and I’ve been following football as well as this club […].
“This project seems a little bit like Manchester United for me. We were sixth, then we [became] third and then second. And this is step by step.
“And, of course, we’re here to win, so hopefully we can make it faster. But we have to be realistic.
“And yes, I had many offers, but as I said before, it had to be the right offer worth me moving away from my perfect life.”
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