Ole Gunnar Solskjaer snubbed both Liverpool and Bayern Munich to join Manchester United in 1996.
Back then he was a relatively unknown player at Molde but Sir Alex Ferguson saw something in the Norwegian striker.
It turns out that Solskjaer had interest from Germany, Italy and the Netherlands as well as England that summer, so his career could have turned out many ways.
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We know Solskjaer wouldn’t change anything about his playing career, which consisted of 11 years at Old Traffiord, including the treble winning season in 1999.
He scored the important winner against Munich on that incredible night in Barcelona.
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Solskjaer told the official Manchester United website about how he ended up in Manchester: “Were Liverpool and Bayern Munich in for me? Yes, [and] Cagliari, PSV and a couple of other teams.
“But I wouldn’t change the history. There was only one choice. It was fantastic when the call came.
“The owners of Molde asked me to come to the office: ‘We’ve got this offer – do you fancy it?’ Yeah, okay.
“They were going to go on holiday the next couple of days. Martin Edwards was going to go on holiday as well, so we had to come in the next day. Their private jet was down by some fault, so they booked and rented another private jet just to fly me over.”
Solskjaer returned to the club in a manager’s capacity in December 2018 and earned himself a contract. And it’s always been about showing Ferguson respect.
He adds: “I was nervous [before meeting Ferguson], because you’re afraid that you’re going to say something daft and he’s going to have a wrong first impression.
“I knew he’d not seen me play a game, so it was an important meeting for me.
“It was just me. We had fish and chips at Old Trafford, in the restaurant back there, and it was maybe half-an-hour or 45 minutes.
“He said: ‘Use the first six months in the reserves, then after Christmas maybe we can integrate you into the first-team squad.’
“They were just negotiating the deal inside Old Trafford, and they were giving me a tour. The tour guide just asked me [why I was here] and I said ‘I’m here to sign a contract’! He actually gave me his pen to sign the contract with! It was a proud moment for him as well, I think.”
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