Ole Gunnar Solskjær has reportedly told his Manchester United players that they are better than the squad he was a part of in 1999 which famously won the treble.
That's according to The Sun, who also claim that the Norwegian has labelled his side as 'title favourites' following the re-signing of Cristiano Ronaldo last week.
The report suggests that Solskjær believes that Ronaldo can have a similar impact to Romelu Lukaku, who returned to Chelsea from Inter Milan earlier this summer.
The United boss, who has been in the dugout at Old Trafford since 2018, played a significant part in The Red Devils' successes of 1999, scoring the winning goal in the Champions League Final against Bayern Munich at Camp Nou.
With the likes of Jaap Stam, David Beckham and Paul Scholes, that United side is considered to be one of the greatest in the history of English football, making Solskjær's supposed claims very audacious indeed.
That being said, his current crop are blessed with several stars of the game, including Bruno Fernandes, Jaden Sancho and, of course, the newly-arrived Ronaldo. They have also enjoyed an excellent, unbeaten start to the season following Mason Greenwood's late winner against Wolves last Sunday.
Solskjær's view of his side is different to those of some of his former United teammates. Roy Keane, who was at the heart of that treble-winning team, believes Solskjær's men are light in a few areas and thus will fall short of winning the title this season.
Speaking to Sky Sports about Ronaldo's return, Keane argued that the 'same problems' at Old Trafford still exist.
"There's no doubt in my mind that he's a world class player," Keane said, as quoted by The MirrorThe Mirror. "He's a winner but Man United still have the same problems with or without Ronaldo and that's midfield and goalkeeping problems."
Keane's sentiments are shared by Gary Neville, who was one of United's stars at the turn of the century.
"Manchester United have got fantastic forward players," he told Sky Sports News. "It (the signing of Ronaldo) strengthens Man United enormously but the big question that every fan in the Premier League will be asking: is it enough for them to win the title?
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I don't quite feel it is. I still think there's a couple of teams that are better."
So whilst comparisons with the treble winners may be a bit exaggeratory, United certainly have a great chance of securing their first piece of silverware since 2017 this season.
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Solskjaer, Man United
