Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is ‘upset’ with Erik ten Hag. (Image: BESIKTAS/GETTY)
will soon clash with when his Besiktas side faces Fenerbahce in the Turkish Super Lig later this season. And the former manager has channelled his inner Special One while reflecting on his time in the Old Trafford dugout in two different ways.
Solskjaer returned to football management in January, signing an 18-month contract in Istanbul to replace Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
The Norwegian hadn’t coached a professional club since his United sacking in 2021 but faces the task of turning the 16-time Turkish champions around.
In a , Solskjaer confirmed that he still watches United “when he can” and named two players whose success has pleased him.
However, the 51-year-old noted that he wasn’t happy with and INEOS’ decision to cash in on Scott McTominay last summer.
United offloaded the academy graduate to Napoli in a £26million deal to help comply with the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR).
“It’s still good to see and Harry (Maguire) doing well. And Scotty is doing well at Napoli,” Solskjaer said.
“I’m upset that we let him go because he was important last season when he kept popping up with goals. His heart and his knowledge of the culture were important.”
Man Utd sold Scott McTominay to Napoli last summer. (Image: Getty)
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McTominay was a crucial part of Solskjaer’s plans in M16, making 115 appearances under the club icon and scoring 14 goals.
He became just as important for Ten Hag, netting 13 times in 85 games, and the Dutchman admitted that he originally didn’t want to lose the 28-year-old.
Mourinho oversaw McTominay’s United breakthrough before Solskjaer replaced him as boss in December 2018, initially on an interim basis, before penning a three-year deal shortly after.
And Solskjaer has joined the Portuguese tactician in expressing his pride in achieving as high as a second-place finish at Old Trafford.
Looking back at his sacking, he said: “Those last six weeks were hard, I can’t deny that, but we were also top of our Champions League group.
“It was the two games against City and Watford that did it, but I maintain that finishing second and third in my two full seasons wasn’t bad given the level in the Premier League.
“We also reached a European final, but I see what Jose (Mourinho) means when he says that his best achievement was getting his United side to second in the league.”
is the latest Red Devils boss to come under pressure. Solskjaer was also asked whether the club has to break the cycle of sacking managers after two years.
“That’s for the people at the top (of United), but an issue is that the manager plays with the previous manager’s players,” the 1999 treble winner added.
“I just remember a great time at United apart from the last six weeks. Great people — and the culture is in the people. Going back to United was like going back to my family like I’d never been away.”