Former Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has revealed a remarkable touchline conversation where Carlo Ancelotti explicitly stated he would never want the Old Trafford hotseat due to the immense pressure involved.
The Touchline Revelation
The Norwegian, who managed United for nearly three years before his dismissal, shared this insight during a recent BBC interview. Solskjaer recalled the incident occurring during a Premier League match between Everton and Manchester United, when Ancelotti, then managing the Toffees, wandered into his technical area.
"I remember one game - Everton. Stood there in my technical area," Solskjaer told the BBC. "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.'"
The response from the decorated Italian manager was immediate and telling. "And he said 'no, no, no, too much pressure. That job is too much pressure'," Solskjaer revealed.
Pressure as Privilege at Manchester United
Despite Ancelotti's concerns about the role, Solskjaer maintained a different perspective on the demands of managing one of football's biggest clubs. "You know pressure is a privilege," Solskjaer reflected, acknowledging that while the position made him "the face of everyone, everything surrounding Man Utd," he felt "privileged to be the manager."
The former United striker emphasised that he approached the challenge by surrounding himself with "great staff" and maintaining a "very positive" environment around the club. However, he conceded that ultimately, results are what matter at a club of United's stature, and his tenure ended following what he described as "a very bad six-week spell" that proved "too long at a club like Man Utd."
Managing United During Football's Toughest Era
Solskjaer offered a sobering assessment of the timing of his managerial reign, suggesting he faced uniquely challenging circumstances. "It was the worst time to be manager of Man Utd," he stated, pointing to the quality of competition during his tenure.
"You have Jurgen Klopp with his Liverpool team and you have Pep Guardiola with his Man City team," Solskjaer explained. "The best managers in the world at the time, probably the best two teams in the world at the time."
Despite these challenges, Solskjaer's United achieved second and third-place Premier League finishes, demonstrating progress under his leadership. However, he acknowledged the team ultimately "couldn't take the next step" towards winning major silverware.
His tenure included numerous semi-final appearances and a Europa League final defeat, but ultimately unravelled following a humiliating 5-0 home defeat to Liverpool and a generally poor run of form that led to his dismissal in November 2021.
Ancelotti, meanwhile, has managed some of Europe's most prestigious clubs including Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, AC Milan, PSG and Chelsea, making his aversion to the United job particularly noteworthy given his extensive experience with high-pressure roles at football giants.
