We are quickly approaching the third anniversary of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer being sacked as Manchester United manager.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was sacked as Manchester United manager in November 2021 after a poor start to the season left the Red Devils in a position not too different to the one they find themselves in now.
However, unlike in 2021, United have moved quickly to find a replacement for Erik ten Hag with Ruben Amorim welcomed at Carrington as the club’s new head coach on Monday afternoon.
Solskjaer will always remain a club legend for his time as a player and manager, and it was emotional for fans to wave goodbye to him after his near-three-year stint in charge.
It seems it was just as emotional for the players as it was for supporters.
Man United star in tears before Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was sacked
Cast your mind back to 2021 and Manchester United found themselves 2-0 down to Watford at half-time in what turned out to be Solskjaer’s final game.
Earlier this year, Solskjaer told The Overlap that players were in tears at half-time and that he knew his time was up.
“It hit me hard the first day because I knew the day before [I was getting sacked], 100 per cent at half-time against Watford I knew, that’s it,” Ole explained.
“So, the team talk at half-time was about whoever wants to play, can play, get your hand up if you don’t want to play, made a few changes, couple of the lads in tears, and I had a go, and then after the game, I knew.”
In a recent interview with Norwegian outlet NRK, Solskjaer has revealed that it was United defender Victor Lindelof who was “on the verge of tears”.
Solskjaer explained: “I said to all the players: ‘This will be the last thing we do together. Those who don’t want to play the second half must be allowed to leave.’ Poor Victor [Lindelof] was on the verge of tears and thought it was heavy. I had a very good relationship with Victor.”
Victor Lindelof faces uncertain future under Ruben Amorim
At 30 years old, Lindelof is now one of the more experienced players in United’s first-team squad.
He has spent seven years at the club and made 266 appearances for the Red Devils. He signed under Jose Mourinho in 2017 and Amorim will be the seventh United manager he has played under.
It is not surprising that Lindelof has survived so long in this United squad given his spectacular attitude. Despite rarely being a first-choice centre-back, he has never complained and has always been available when called on.
READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Man United defender Victor Lindelof: Age, wage, nickname and more
Remarkably, Lindelof played alongside Amorim during his time at Benfica, and he will hope that serves him well when it comes to trying to work his way into his plans at Old Trafford.
However, given United’s riches at centre-back, including new signings Leny Yoro and Matthijs de Ligt, Lindelof may find it difficult to force his way into the lineup.
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