Gary Neville was angry with Cristiano Ronaldo for not supporting Ole Gunnar Solskjaer more during his second spell at Manchester United.
Solskjaer relived his three months as Ronaldo’s manager during the Portuguese’s second spell at Manchester United, as he spoke to Neville on Sky Bet’s Stick to Football podcast. The former United captain said he would have liked the legendary striker to be more of a leader and publicly support his manager, recalling that Ronaldo left the stadium after a 1-1 draw against Everton, while he started the match on the sidelines.
“ When I saw Ronaldo on the bench and he was doing these things on camera, it was difficult. Obviously after the Everton game, when Ole left him out the first time and I remember him leaving, I felt like I was letting Ole down because he was a former teammate »Neville said.
“Much respect”
Ronaldo scored numerous goals in his second spell at United, but the team did not perform well and pressure began to pile on Solskjaer after heavy defeats to Leicester, Liverpool and Manchester City. He was eventually dismissed after being defeated 4-1 by Watford. “ He’s a great player, an immovable object in terms of what he’s accomplished, but I thought he should have had Ole as an ally in the dressing room, especially since the times we spent together in the dressing room as that players“added Neville. “I wanted him to step up and be the leader in the locker room, but he didn’t, and that’s why we were in conflict in that situation. »
Despite Neville’s complaints, Solskjaer insisted he had a good relationship with Ronaldo. “ I had a good relationship with Cristiano and there is a lot of respect between us. I think he handled his disappointments very well when I was there.”added the Norwegian.
