Ole Gunnar Solskjaer ended his decorated playing career on this day in 2007.
The then 34-year-old Manchester United striker had seen the last four years of his career ravaged by knee injuries.
“I want to thank manager Sir Alex Ferguson, the coaching and medical staff and above all all the supporters,” Solskjaer told the club’s website.
“They were fantastic and a real inspiration to me when I was injured.”
Solskjaer is mobbed after his 1999 Champions League final winner. (Owen Humphreys/PA)
(PA Archive)
He joined United from Molde for £1.5million in 1996 and the former Norway international made 366 appearances for United, scoring 126 goals.
He also won six Premier League titles, the FA Cup and, famously, the 1999 Champions League.
Solskjaer came off the bench against Bayern Munich at the Nou Camp to score a stoppage-time winner to claim a dramatic 2-1 win.
After retiring, Solskjaer remained at Old Trafford as a manager and returned to his reserves in 2008.
Two years later he joined Molde, winning two league titles, before moving to Cardiff. He couldn’t save the Bluebirds from relegation from the Premier League and only lasted nine months in Wales.
A return to Molde followed in 2015 and in 2018 he was appointed interim United manager following the dismissal of Jose Mourinho.
In March 2019, he became their permanent boss but struggled for consistency during his reign. United lost the 2021 Europa League final to Villarreal and in November last year he was sacked, having only signed a new three-year contract in June.
