Former Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has admitted that bringing Cristiano Ronaldo back to the club in 2021 was a mistake.

Ronaldo returned to Old Trafford at the start of the 2021/22 season in a deal worth £12.8millon. The then-36-year-old joined from Juventus, 13 years after his first spell at the club.

In his first season back, Ronaldo was United’s best player with 24 goals in 38 appearances. However, after Solskjaer was sacked, Ronaldo became a scapegoat at Old Trafford before falling out with Erik ten Hag.

Before the 2022 World Cup, Ronaldo all but confirmed his desire to leave the club with a sensational interview with Piers Morgan. As well as revealing he felt ‘betrayed’ by the club, the Portugal international also claimed he ‘doesn’t respect’ Ten Hag.

Speaking at the Oslo Business Forum, Solskjaer admitted that Ronaldo’s signing impacted his dressing room. “Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the best players in the world in the last 15 years. I played with him. He played for Manchester United,” he said.

“He has history with the club and he’s leaving Juventus but we can not give him to Manchester City because he will score more goals than Erling Haaland is doing at the moment probably.

“So I speak to Cristiano. We get him to Man United but I think maybe that affected the whole dressing room, the dynamic in the dressing room. Maybe other players felt less important because of course this is one of the world superstars that comes in.

“He did well. He was top scorer that year, scored 24 goals or something, but I was out of the job 10 weeks later!”