YOU’VE GOT IT RON, RIO
Solskjaer tells Ferdinand to ‘get his facts right’ as tempers flared on the touchline
OLE GUNNAR SOLSKJAER has told Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand that he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
The United boss has hit out at Ferdinand’s suggestion that Solskjaer should have told Cristiano Ronaldo to sit down after the substituted Portuguese superstar jumped from the bench to venture into his technical area during the shock 2-1 Champions League defeat to Young Boys on Tuesday night.
Solskjaer has now revealed that both Ronaldo and team-mate Bruno Fernandes were protesting about a challenge by Young Boys midfielder Christopher Martins – and suggested that Ferdinand (right) should get his facts right before offering his opinion.
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Solskjaer said: “Rio again, you know, sometimes he comments on things he doesn’t really know. It should have been a yellow card for the boy when he brought down Nemanja Matic.
“Both Bruno and Cristiano, as competitive as they are, suddenly I had them on my shoulder.
“They were there for a brief spell and shouted to the referee. That was the aggravation of getting a few bad decisions against us.
“But then Cristiano sat down, Bruno sat down. We know that there is only one man allowed in that technical area and that’s either me or Michael Carrick or Mick Phelan or Kieran Mckenna who is up there.”
Ferdinand, a former team-mate of Solskjaer and Ronaldo at United, claimed he played a key role in Ronaldo’s decision to return to Old Trafford last month after being linked with a move to rivals Manchester City.
But he wasn’t impressed when the striker joined Solskjaer on the touchline in Bern.
Ronaldo, 36, has previous when it comes to coaching from the sidelines, most famously after he was injured during Portugal’s Euro 2016 final triumph over France in Paris and had to be substituted.
Ferdinand, in his role as a pundit with BT Sport, said: “If I’m the manager, I’ve got to be honest, I’m telling him to sit down.”
Solskjaer said: “That was just a spur-ofthe-moment, should-have-been-sent-off, that No.35, Martins. So I don’t have any problem with them showing some passion and then going back down. It’s not like he [Ronaldo] was coaching his players. No.”
United meet West Ham at the London Stadium after Ronaldo marked his Premier League return with a
brace against Newcastle.
And Solskjaer added: “Cristiano has come exactly as we hoped. He knows Man United, he’s been here before – and it’s the same with Tom Heaton.
Culture
“The two of them know the culture, they know what we do, they’ve learnt it here. They’ve come back and they’ve given the young boys glimpses of what you can have in your career.
“They talk to them about their own previous experiences. How we do things here is within the walls and you have to experience it to be able to pass it on.
“They know the expectations and the circus and everything that happened before the Newcastle game.
“Cristiano handled it well and the other players handled it really well. It’s what we do. Good players come in and you learn from them - but you still want to take their place.”