When Manchester United sacked Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in November 2021, it was a sad moment for everyone associated with the football club. Just a few months earlier there was a genuine belief that a Premier League title challenge might be a real possibility.
The Red Devils had secured second place in the Premier League during the 2020-21 season, finishing above both Liverpool and Chelsea, and made three hugely exciting signings in the summer transfer window. Jadon Sancho arrived following a superb spell with Borussia Dortmund, the vastly-experienced Raphael Varane joined from Real Madrid, while club legend Cristiano Ronaldo made a dramatic return at Old Trafford.
Ronaldo marked his second debut for Man Utd with a brace in a 4-1 home win over Newcastle United. Solskjaer’s team had picked up 10 points from their opening four league fixtures, with Bruno Fernandes and Mason Greenwood in red-hot form, and fans were understandably brimming with optimism.
But it didn’t take long for things to unravel, and before November was finished, Solskjaer was conducting a teary farewell interview after he was sacked following a dismal 4-1 defeat away at Watford. The Norwegian coach was one of the reasons why Ronaldo had agreed to return to Old Trafford in the first place. Now the club were left searching for their fifth permanent new manager following Sir Alex Ferguson’s exit in 2013.
The Red Devils eventually made the eyebrow-raising decision to appoint Ralf Rangnick as interim manager. Ronaldo later said of the German tactician, dubbed the ‘godfather of gegenpressing’: “If you’re not even a coach, how are you going to be the boss of Manchester United? I’d never even heard of him.”
While Rangnick made a number of interesting observations during his time at Old Trafford, the team’s performances failed to improve under the current Austria boss. He was replaced by Erik ten Hag - the highly-rated Dutch coach who’d made a huge impact at Ajax and backed himself to turn Manchester United around.
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Iconic No. 7 was keen for Luis Enrique to join
However, Ten Hag wasn’t the manager who Ronaldo wanted at the Theatre of Dreams. Indeed, the two men would later fall out in quite spectacular fashion.
The legendary Portuguese forward wanted Luis Enrique, according to Sky Sports’ Rob Dorsett, who tweeted in 2021: “Cristiano Ronaldo is keen for Luis Enrique to become the new Manchester United manager, I’m told. The Spain boss likely to be considered for the role along with out-of-work Zinedine Zidane and Erik Ten Hag, the Ajax manager. [Mauricio] Pochettino and Brendan Rodgers are long shots currently.”
Luis Enrique’s reputation as an elite coach has been significantly enhanced in recent years, particularly after masterminding Paris Saint-Germain’s 2024-25 Champions League triumph. Previous PSG managers had more star names at their disposal and were unable to turn the French club into European champions for the first time, but Luis Enrique finally ended the hoodoo in May, with his exceptional team registering a 5-0 win over Inter in the most one-sided final in the competition’s history.
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Currently competing with Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola for the title of best manager in world football right now, almost every club in world football would now want Luis Enrique if he suddenly decides to leave the Parc des Princes.