Former Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer revealed that Carlo Ancelotti claimed he wouldn’t want to land the Old Trafford job when they came up against each other
Carlo Ancelotti has managed some of the world’s biggest names
Former Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has recalled an occasion when Carlo Ancelotti, then in charge of Everton, wandered into his technical area and told him he wouldn’t want his job because it was “too much pressure”.
The Norwegian had just shy of three years in the role before he was given his marching orders. Solskjaer was the first ex-United player to be given the gig on a full-time basis following Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement and enjoyed mixed results.
Despite the team’s fall in the post-Ferguson era there is still huge expectation on the Manchester outfit to perform. Ancelotti has led some of Europe’s biggest names, the most noteworthy being Real Madrid. He’s also been in charge at Bayern Munich, AC Milan, PSG and Chelsea.
But Solskjaer claims he said on the spot that he wouldn’t want the United job midway through a clash between Everton and the Red Devils.
The 52-year-old told the BBC: “I remember one game – Everton. Stood there in my technical area. Carlo Ancelotti comes across, so he’s more or less in my technical area. Fourth official says, ‘Carlo, you need to go back into your technical area, unless you want Ole’s job.’
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“And he said ‘no, no, no, too much pressure. That job is too much pressure’. You know pressure is a privilege, he’s always said that as well, and I felt privileged to be the manager of Man Utd, but of course, you’re the face of everyone, everything surrounding Man Utd.
“But that pressure is a privilege because I was allowed to do that and I was allowed to deal with it in my way and that was having great staff around us, environment in and around the club was very positive, but in the end you need results. Unfortunately had a very bad six-week spell and that’s too long at a club like Man Utd.”
Carlo Ancelotti told Ole Gunnar Solskjaer that he wouldn’t want to be the Man Utd boss
Solskjaer had made strides forward during his United stint, but fell short of delivering a trophy, losing in numerous semi-finals and the Europa League final. It was a dire run that included a humiliating 5-0 loss to Liverpool at home which eventually led to his sacking. And the Norwegian claims that, given what he was up against, he couldn’t have chosen a worse time to lead the club he played for.
“It’s not about getting the credit,” he said. “It was the worst time to be manager of Man Utd. You have Jurgen Klopp with his Liverpool team and you have Pep Guardiola with his Man City team. The best managers in the world at the time, probably the best two teams in the world at the time. But we got second and third. So with the staff we had something going, but we couldn’t take the next step.”
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