Ole Gunnar Solskjaer shows true colours as fresh Manchester United statement made

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer shows true colours as fresh Manchester United statement made

Man United legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has had his say on life as Besiktas manager and the pride he feels at managing one of Turkish football's biggest clubs

Manchester United legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer became manager of Besiktas in January 2025 (Image: Anadolu via Getty Images )

Besiktas manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has compared the Turkish club to former side Manchester United.

‌

The 52-year-old is most famous at Old Trafford for scoring the winning goal as a Reds striker in United's 1999 Champions League victory over Bayern Munich. Solskjaer's stoppage time finish helped Sir Alex Ferguson's side become the first English team to win the treble of Premier League, FA Cup and European Cup.

‌

Solskjaer has been in management since retiring in 2007 and was confirmed as Besiktas' new manager on January 18. It was his first role in management since being sacked by the Reds in November 2021.

‌

The Norwegian guided United to successive top three finishes in the Premier League. However, they took just four points from their final 21 available under him.

Despite enduring an unhappy ending to his most recent stint at M16, Solskjaer still holds positive feelings for the club - a sentiment now echoed with his current employers in Turkey.

"I’ve always had feelings for Beşiktaş. Manchester United is a similar club," he told Hürriyet. "Beşiktaş is also the first team to represent Turkey in European Cups.

‌

"I accepted to be a part of the successes in Beşiktaş history.

"I came to Beşiktaş for our third meeting. In the first one, I agreed, but it didn’t happen, Fernando Santos came.

"Then we met again, this time Giovanni van Bronckhorst came. Then the president and I had a vision, and we agreed immediately."

‌

Besiktas finished last season fourth in the Turkish Super Lig and will therefore be playing a two-legged Europa League qualifier later this month. To qualify for the League Phase, they will need to navigate two further rounds in July and August.

Here at The Manchester Evening News, we are dedicated to bringing you the best Manchester United coverage and analysis.

‌

Make sure you don't miss out on the latest United news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe.

You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day's biggest stories.

And, finally, if you would rather listen to our expert analysis then make sure to check out our Manchester is Red podcast, featuring The Samuel Luckhurst Show and The Midweek Debate. Our shows are available on all podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and you can also watch along on YouTube.

Article continues below

Click here to read article