Solskjær claims some Manchester United players said no to captaincy

Ole Gunnar Solskjær has said some Manchester United players did not want to be captain for certain matches while he was the manager.

Solskjær, who was in charge from December 2018 to November 2021, described that as “petty” and displaying “a lack of ambition” in critical comments about generation Z.

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“No one said ‘no’ to being the club captain, it was just for certain games,” Solskjaer told the Stick to Football podcast. “Yes, but they didn’t want to say it themselves, they had other people come up to me and say it. It was disappointing. It’s a different generation, it’s Gen Z. It’s petty and shows a lack of ambition.”

Solskjær also said a lot of his squad did not want to do pre-match host broadcast interviews. “Many players said no to doing the pre-match interviews, the three questions,” he said. “You had the go-to’s: Bruno [Fernandes] always did it, Harry [Maguire] always did it, Victor [Lindelöf] did it, David [de Gea] did it, Luke Shaw did it.

“The others were worried about the questions, so preferred not to do it. You’re scared of the whole reaction maybe, but you also understand some of the players’ mental health.”

He felt his players were affected by criticism from pundits and the media. “Definitely, 100%. You criticise players or teams’ tactics, but when it goes above that because there are so many who watch and listen and go on social media [it does have an impact]. If they don’t read it, friends, agents, managers will. When it gets personal, about character, they listen and think about it more than you think.”

Solskjaer has focused on his and his family’s wellbeing since being sacked by United, turning down numerous opportunities to return to the game.

“I needed time out, and I have properly enjoyed it,” he said. “Just prioritised myself, family – and I have had a few offers with [other clubs] and it’s like: ‘Nah, I’m not ready.’ It’s one of them, it’s got to be somewhere where I can be myself, not like anyone dictating: ‘You need to do this, you need to do this.’ Because when you’ve been at United, you manage them, you learn a few things, and you want to do it your way next time.”