Cristiano Ronaldo once reportedly blocked Antonio Conte from becoming Juventus manager two years ago.
And, amid claims the Italian is interested in the Manchester United job, that’s worth keeping in mind. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is already under pressure from supporters after overseeing a nightmare 2-1 Champions League defeat to BSC Young Boys earlier in the week.
Manchester United were poor against Young Boys on Tuesday night.
They went into the game on a high after battering Newcastle, with Ronaldo then scoring early in Switzerland after a sumptuous pass from Bruno Fernandes.
However, after Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s red card, the game then turned with the visitors able to turn the result around.
In the aftermath, some have called for Solskjaer’s head to roll – especially given the 48-year-old’s poor record of seven defeats from 11 matches in the competition.
And Gianluca Di Marzio recently indicated Conte would happily take over at Old Trafford, saying: “He would only accept a winning project.
“So I don’t think he would accept Arsenal and that is why he said no to Tottenham.
“I think he would only accept if say Manchester United called.”
Before we continue, we have to make it clear that United aren’t presently considering sacking Solskjaer.
They feel the Norwegian has made substantial progress during his time at the club and gave him a three-year contract back in the summer in recognition of his achievements so far.
Yet with Conte available, he’s sure to be linked to United every time they experience a setback.
And one player who may object to his potential appointment in the future is Ronaldo.
It was reported two years ago by La Repubblica (via AS) that Ronaldo didn’t want the Italian to take over at Juventus following Massimiliano Allegri’s departure.
It was stated the veteran ‘made a negative gesture’ when asked on his opinion over any hypothetical return for Conte.
Instead, he supposedly suggested Carlo Ancelotti and Jose Mourinho as possible replacements for Allegri instead.
Yet that didn’t happen, with Juventus ultimately opting to hire Maurizio Sarri – before sacking him 12 months later.
Ronaldo’s apparent objection to Conte taking over in Italy means he may not be enthused by the possibility of the Italian replacing Solskjaer at United.
So he’d best hope the Norwegian achieves the results everybody wants him to, in order to avoid that happening.
Meanwhile, Dimitar Berbatov has addressed calls for United to axe Solskjaer.
And he’s insisted it’s far too early in the season for that type of talk.
“Seven defeats in 11 Champions League matches under Ole Solskjaer is not good enough for United,” he said.
“I get that but sometimes there is more to football than the statistics show.
“Is Solskjaer’s job at risk after the defeat in Switzerland?
“Come on, you can’t be serious.
“United have played four games in the Premier League and won three of them.
“One defeat in the Champions League does not put Ole’s job in jeopardy. I don’t see any point in discussing Solskjaer’s future so early in the season.
“United have a strong squad, have made excellent signings who are bedding in, and we should judge them at the end of the group stage, not after one match.”