Ole Gunnar Solskjaer showed the ultimate class after he stood up for one of his former Manchester United players amid criticism from one Red Devils legend.
The 51-year-old Manchester United legend has been out of management since his spell at Old Trafford in 2021 ended with his sacking.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer made his sensational return to Old Trafford in 2018 and was appointed caretaker manager after Jose Mourinho was dismissed.
The former United star enjoyed a scintillating run during his caretaker spell at the Premier League club and Solskjaer’s appointment was made permanent in 2019.
Solskjaer oversaw both the highs and lows during his managerial spell at Old Trafford, including leading United to second in the Premier League table.
However, the Norweigan’s spell in the Old Trafford hot seat ended with no major silverware, with United falling short to Villarreal in the Europa League final in 2021.
Solskjaer’s text to Man Utd legend
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer leapt to the defence of Phil Jones after one of his ex-club teammates launched a scathing criticism of the former Manchester United defender.
Phil Jones, who retired from football back in August, endured an injury-hit spell at Old Trafford and saw his playing time for United significantly limited.
The 32-year-old former United centre-back had been at Old Trafford since 2011 after legendary ex-manager Sir Alex Ferguson signed him from Blackburn Rovers.
Jones’ lack of playing time in 2021 led to scathing criticism from United legend Rio Ferdinand, who pulled no punches towards his former Red Devils teammate.
Rio Ferdinand linked up with Jones for a sit-down chat and admitted that Solskjaer later told him what happened to the former player after his brutal criticism.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, he said: “You know what the turning point was?
“Ole texted me, and Ole said to me, ‘Rio, I don’t know if you are aware, well, you are obviously not aware, but Jones has been injured for a long time.’ I think it was 18 months. He was out for 18 months.
“And I said, ‘F**k. Why has no-one told me?’ So, I then reached out to Fletch [Darren Fletcher] and said, I said to Ole, I said make sure you apologise or if I can speak to Jones, but Jones didn’t want to speak to me at the time, but I was unaware, that’s the thing.
“I was unaware of the situation, so I just wanted to say sorry, man, and I hope you don’t judge me. It was never personal.”
What did Ferdinand say about Jones?
Phil Jones had signed a new United deal in 2019 before he was hit with a devastating knee injury in 2020, which left him on the sideline for the long term.
Rio Ferdinand took aim at the former United defender on his YouTube channel in 2021 and claimed that Jones should have been offloaded from Old Trafford.
“He’s taking up a youth team player’s position in that squad right now,” he said on his Vibe With Five show at the time.
“He’s had too many injuries… I was in the same team as Phil Jones, he came from Blackburn as a young kid, everyone was saying he was going to be this great player.
“Huge potential but injuries have absolutely annihilated his career and then confidence issues at certain times as well.
“He’s never been able to fully establish himself in the team. Whether it’s injuries, lack of form, lack of confidence.
“I think he should’ve gone ages ago. He should’ve gone before Chris Smalling went. Find a new club and play some football.
“He’s lacked consistency throughout his career at Man United. That’s a fact, for all the reasons I stated before.
“I am baffled at how he’s still been given a new deal at the club given his past few years at the club. It just doesn’t make sense to me how you get a new deal.”
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