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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says Cristiano Ronaldo asked to be ‘benched’ and then ‘sulked’ about it

Manchester United legend and former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer sat down with former teammates Gary Neville and Roy Keane for a special episode of The Overlap.

Alongside Neville and Keane was former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher, former Arsenal striker Ian Wright and Lioness Euro winner Jill Scott as they all sat down, had some Norwegian food and talked about football.

The former Manchester United manager revealed what really went on at the club during his tenure and told stories that haven’t been heard before.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer talking about Cristiano Ronaldo on The Overlap.
Solskjaer spent nearly THREE years at Old Trafford as a manager.(Credit: The Overlap / Sky Sports)

The Norwegian explains how he tried to convince the United board to sign Erling Haaland but they wouldn’t listen.

He also explained how he missed out on the highly-talented English duo of Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham.

Expectedly, the main subject came 36 minutes into the episode when the name Cristiano Ronaldo got brought up.

Solskjaer stated that Ronaldo used to request to be benched and when he was benched he used to sulk about it.

“You’ve got Mason Greenwood, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial, who can learn from Cristiano as he’s the best, the most disciplined and he’s been the best player in the world, and you think he’s going to help them.

“When he arrived at the club, he told me to start him for three games in a row, and then put me on the bench for the fourth game, but he’s so passionate so when I did that, he didn’t like it.”

The Norwegian said Cristiano Ronaldo used to ‘sulk’ when he was benched. (Credit: The Overlap / Sky Sports)

“It was the game against Everton when he walked straight off the pitch after I brought him on as a substitute, but there were more problems with him after I had left the club.

Solskjaer didn’t have many problems with Ronaldo and the pair got on just fine during his second stint at the club.

“I had a good relationship with Cristiano and there’s loads of respect between us. I think he behaved really well in his disappointments when I was there.”

You can watch the full episode of The Overlap courtesy of Sky Sports below:

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