Ole Gunnar Solskjaer leaves Manchester United

November 21, 2021 1:45 PM

Michael Carrick takes interim charge.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has left his position as Manchester United manager, the club have confirmed.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has left his position as Manchester United manager, the club has confirmed.

"Ole will always be a legend at Manchester United and it is with regret that we have reached this difficult decision.

While the past few weeks have been disappointing, they should not obscure all the work he has done over the past three years to rebuild the foundations for long-term success.

Ole leaves with our sincerest thanks for his tireless efforts as Manager and our very best wishes for the future.

His place in the club’s history will always be secure, not just for his story as a player, but as a great man and a Manager who gave us many great moments. He will forever be welcome back at Old Trafford as part of the Manchester United family.

Michael Carrick will now take charge of the team for forthcoming games, while the club looks to appoint an interim manager to the end of the season," read the statement from Manchester United.

A humiliating 4-1 defeat to Watford on Saturday was the final straw for the club's owners, the Glazer family, with Solskjaer out amid a wretched run of five defeats in seven Premier League games.

The manner of the performance at Vicarage Road warranted fresh discussions between the club's owners, the Glazer family, and executive vice chairman Woodward on Saturday night.

Chief negotiator Matt Judge was also involved in talks, which focused on compensation costs for the manager, as well as which of his staff would stay on at Old Trafford in the event of his dismissal.

Solskjaer had signed a new contract at United in July 2021, which ran until 2024, with an option for a further year.

Solskjaer, who replaced Jose Mourinho as manager in December 2018 initially on an interim basis, had been in permanent charge since March 2019.

While he enjoyed some success, including setting an English league record 29-match unbeaten run away from home, as well as securing successive top four finishes for the first time since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, his tenure included a mixture of devastating results and a failure to secure a first trophy since 2017.

As well as a 5-0 loss at home to Liverpool, Solskjaer also oversaw a 6-1 defeat at home to Tottenham, managed by predecessor Mourinho, last season.

The Norwegian's best chance of silverware was also ended in the 2021 Europa League final as his side lost to Villarreal on penalties having been eliminated in the Champions League group stages earlier in the campaign.

A positive summer of recruitment, which included the arrivals of Jadon Sancho, Raphael Varane and Cristiano Ronaldo for over £120m, heightened the pressure on Solskjaer to begin the campaign positively ahead of what many expected to be a sustained challenge for a league title.