Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the Manchester United legend, has disclosed that Sir Alex Ferguson initially had his sights set on signing Alan Shearer instead of him back in 1996. Solskjaer, who eventually joined United from Molde for £1.5 million, became a pivotal figure at the club, famously scoring the stoppage-time winner in the 1999 Champions League final to complete an unprecedented treble.
Shearer, who was coming off a Golden Boot-winning performance at Euro ’96, was one of the most sought-after strikers at the time. He ultimately joined Newcastle United for a then-world record fee of £15 million. Solskjaer’s revelation highlights the often unpredictable nature of football transfers and the remarkable impact that alternative signings can have on a club’s history.
At the time Shearer was hot property having just won the Golden Boot at Euro 1996. However, he famously snubbed an Old Trafford move to join his hometown club Newcastle United that summer for a world record £15million fee.
Solskjaer however, admitted he felt little pressure to be an adequate alternative to Shearer.
“I felt no pressure whatsoever,” insists Solskjaer. “It felt like a privilege. I was six minutes into my debut when I scored.
“Eric Cantona was the first one to celebrate with me, David Beckham was the second. I looked around at the crowd going mad and I had all the players thanking me.
“That was a wow moment, the start of something special. I played with some of the best players in the world, but then we were one of the best teams in the world.
“We had a great dressing room. We challenged each other, we loved each other, we fought with each other in the dressing room because we needed to win.
“We had some fiery characters. David May was the joker, Paul Scholes was the silent assassin, sat there at the back throwing comments.
“Giggsy was the entertainer. Eric Cantona set the mood. When he came into the dressing room, everyone just sat down and looked at him. Everyone looked up to him.”