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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has criticised the behaviour of some players during his time as Manchester United manager, saying they were not as good as they thought they were.<\/p>\n
Solskjaer\u00a0was sacked\u00a0in November 2021 after nearly three years in charge.<\/p>\n
His successor Erik ten Hag has said there was\u00a0\u201cno good culture\u201d\u00a0when he arrived at Old Trafford in May 2022.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cSome weren\u2019t as good as their own perception of themselves,\u201d Solskjaer, 50,\u00a0told The Athletic.<\/p>\n
The former United and Norway forward added: \u201cI won\u2019t name names, but I was very disappointed when a couple turned down the chance to be captain.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was also disappointed when others said they wouldn\u2019t play or train because they wanted to force their way out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Solskjaer\u2019s United finished second in the 2020-21 season and lost the Europa League final on penalties to Villarreal.<\/p>\n
At the start of the following season, he signed England forward Jadon Sancho and France defender Raphael Varane and re-signed former United forward and five-time Ballon d\u2019Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo.<\/p>\n
But he was sacked 12 Premier League matches into the new campaign following a 4-1 loss to Watford.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you have a group you need everyone to pull in the same direction,\u201d he added. \u201cWhen things didn\u2019t go right, you could see certain players and egos came out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018A dream but difficult job\u2019<\/h3>\n
Ten Hag has had to deal with numerous off-the-field issues this season,\u00a0with Jadon Sancho training away from the first-team squad\u00a0and\u00a0Brazilian winger Antony delaying his return to Old Trafford\u00a0\u201cto address allegations\u201d of assault made against him.<\/p>\n
Mason Greenwood has joined Spanish top-flight side Getafe\u00a0on loan following an internal club investigation after criminal charges against him, including attempted rape and assault, were dropped.<\/p>\n
In addition, the club\u2019s ownership has still not been resolved after the Glazer family said\u00a0they were considering selling as they \u201cexplore strategic alternatives\u201d\u00a0in November 2022.<\/p>\n
Pressure is building on Ten Hag, with United having lost three of their opening five Premier League games this season.<\/p>\n
Asked if he has sympathy for Ten Hag, Solskjaer said: \u201cI know what he\u2019s going through. It\u2019s a dream job, but it\u2019s difficult.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re dealing with humans with all their problems and backgrounds \u2013 this isn\u2019t a computer simulation.<\/p>\n \u201cBut most are good professionals who want to do well. Some think about number one first, but most think of the club.\u201d<\/p>\n There have been fan protests against the Glazer\u2019s ownership but Solskjaer described them as \u201chonest and upfront\u201d in the conversations he has had with them.<\/p>\n \u201cI had to be patient and mentally strong \u2013 and I was. And they\u2019ve backed the manager now,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Solskjaer re-signed Ronaldo\u00a0\u2013 to much fanfare \u2013 on 31 August 2021, 12 years after the Portuguese superstar had left for Real Madrid.<\/p>\n But the move back to Old Trafford turned sour when he criticised the club and said he had \u201cno respect\u201d for manager Ten Hag, which lead to\u00a0Ronaldo\u2019s departure to Al-Nasr, in Saudi Arabia, in December.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a decision that was very difficult to turn down and I felt we had to take it, but it turned out wrong,\u201d Solskjaer said of Ronaldo\u2019s return.<\/p>\n \u201cIt felt so right when he [Ronaldo] signed and the fans felt that at that Newcastle game when Old Trafford was rocking [after Ronaldo scored twice in a 4-1 win].<\/p>\n \u201cHe was still one of the best goalscorers in the world, he was looking strong.\u201d<\/p>\n Solskjaer also revealed the club could not buy the players he mentioned to them.<\/p>\n They included Manchester City striker Erling Haaland, before he joined RB Salzburg in 2019, Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice, who signed for the Gunners in a \u00a3100m deal from West Ham in July and Jude Bellingham, who joined Real Madrid from Borussia Dortmund this summer.<\/p>\n Asked which players he tried to sign, Solskjaer said: \u201cErling Haaland, before he made his Salzburg debut.<\/p>\n \u201cDeclan Rice wouldn\u2019t have cost what he did in the summer. We discussed Moises Caicedo, but we felt we needed players ready for there and then.<\/p>\n \u201cWe wanted Jude Bellingham badly \u2013 he\u2019s a Man United player \u2013 but I respect he chose Dortmund. That was probably sensible.\u201d<\/p>\n Speaking about England captain Harry Kane, who moved to Bayern Munich this summer from Tottenham, he added: \u201cI would have signed Kane every day of the week and my understanding was that he wanted to come, but the club didn\u2019t have the budget with the financial constraints from Covid-19.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was no bottomless pit.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"Ole](\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/_131138047_olegunnar.jpg\")
Ronaldo return \u2018turned out wrong\u2019<\/h3>\n
![\"Cristiano](\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/_131136817_ole2.jpg\")
Haaland, Rice, Bellingham and Kane were all targets<\/h3>\n