Solskjaer on Besiktas, Man Utd, Maguire & McTominay

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer bounces in as light and airy as the summer room Besiktas have allocated for our interview.

"I came here to get away from people like you," he laughs, explaining the joke to club officials through his Turkish interpreter.

His mood is relaxed and jovial.

Over the next 30 minutes, Solskjaer, who is 2,000 miles from his spiritual home in Manchester and 1,700 from his actual home in Norway, reflects on the lack of contact with former United colleagues, reveals his shock at the sale of Scott McTominay and worry over what's happening to his "family" at Old Trafford.

But this is not his priority right now. He must concentrate on a massive and highly pressurised managerial role and his first experience of an Istanbul derby away from home, when Besiktas face Jose Mourinho's Fenerbahce on Sunday.

It is an important game. Besiktas need a result to maintain hopes of a third-place finish which, depending on who wins the Turkish Cup final, offers a Europa League play-off spot rather than a place in the second qualifying round.

"That's the deal I have made," Solskjaer says. "It is more important than an extra few quid. If we get third, the players get an extra week off in the summer."

Fenerbahce are chasing the third - and currently dominant - Istanbul team, Galatasaray, for the title. Heading into the weekend, they are five points behind, with five games left. They cannot afford to slip up. Who knows what Mourinho has in store to turn the situation his way.

It is against this backdrop that Solskjaer has agreed to speak at length to BBC Sport for the first time since he lost his job at Manchester United in October 2021. Like Mourinho before him, the Norwegian paid the price for regression the season after he finished second.

Besiktas are very much his club now. But events at Old Trafford are never far from his mind.

"Man United is my family and will always be part of me," he says.

"In football, you don't feel sorry for anyone because we are privileged, absolutely 100% privileged to be able to work in clubs like this.

"But for me, it is hard to watch because it is your family that is struggling. It is never easy at the weekend when you look at the table."

He is talking with incredulity about the fact United, at the time of this meeting, are 14th in the Premier League.

They were seventh when he was dismissed after a 4-1 defeat at Watford. Two months before that they had been third, behind leaders Chelsea on goal difference.

But a terrible run of results, including a record 5-0 home defeat by Liverpool and 2-0 loss to Manchester City at Old Trafford where the scoreline massively flattered United, meant Solskjaer knew what was coming as the Watford debacle unfolded.

It has taken him a long time to return. Why Besiktas?

"You have not been here long enough," he says with a smile.

"The club is fantastic. I spoke to a lot without doing anything about it. This was the only one I spoke to where I looked back afterwards and thought 'I wish I was there' because there is so much potential.

"You feel the identity and culture in the club is aligned with you; the values about honesty, community work. We were the first club in Turkey to go abroad to play. It is very similar to Man United in that sense. It just reminded me of Man United when I was there."

The pay-off is telling.

At United, Solskjaer had tried to instil the 'look after everyone' mentality he knew so well from Sir Alex Ferguson's time.

He took that approach from the first day he returned to United's Carrington training ground after taking an SOS call from then executive chairman Ed Woodward in December 2018.

Woodward wanted Solskjaer to bring a smile back to the face of a club that had turned toxic as Mourinho's tenure drew to a close amid rancour and recrimination.

The new boss handed out chocolate bars to staff members – something he used to do in his own playing days. Beloved receptionist Kath Phipps was the first recipient. Solskjaer flew in for Phipps' funeral in January 2025. He went on to the wake, which was populated by so many of the old guard.

Solskjaer noted that day, as did so many others, there seemed to be a disconnect between United's current leadership and the past.

We meet a day after United have beaten Atletico Bilbao to plant one foot into the Europa League final. His elation for players he knows well comes with a shocking revelation given his knowledge of the club and the advice he could offer, plus the elevated position he holds from his playing days, which goes far beyond a single – iconic – goal at the Nou Camp.

"For me, Harry [Maguire] has always been a leader and a fighter," Solskjaer says.

"I was never in doubt when I signed him and he walked in the door he would be captain for us.

"There is another captain there in Bruno [Fernandes]. The two of them are top human beings. I was so happy for them last night.

"Those two and Victor [Lindelof] are probably the only ones I have heard from in the club since I left. You want the best for them."

He doesn't say it – and wouldn't because by his nature he is not one to take cheap shots and he will never alter the fundamentals he took from his parents and has tried to pass on as a husband and father – but the lack of communication hurts.

An example of his values is shown a few minutes later when he is walking across from the Besiktas training ground from the summer house to the main building to get his lunch.

Two young supporters spot him and ask for autographs and selfies. Not only does he oblige, he stops 19-year-old Ecuador winger Keny Arroyo, a £6.4m February arrival, who is about to walk past, to make sure he does the same.

There is a strong Manchester United undercurrent to the next game for Solskjaer.

Working with him at Besiktas is former United goalkeeping coach Richard Hartis and Tom Green, who left his job at United's senior performance analyst in February to take on the head of analysis role at the Turkish club.

Playing for Mourinho is former United midfielder Sofyan Amrabat and also a player Solskjaer knows very well in Fred, the Brazilian half of United's one-time 'McFred' midfield axis, alongside Scott McTominay.

Talking about this offers an opportunity to despair at the recruitment and sales decisions his old club have taken, including allowing McTominay to join Napoli.

"Scott and Fred together, they were lads you would put your hat on every day to give 100%," Solskjaer says.

"How you can sell Scott is beyond me."

Solskjaer assesses the work ahead of him in a pragmatic way. From a detached perspective, it seems many of the challenges he is facing are similar to those Ruben Amorim is experiencing at United.

To that end, a Europa League win could be crucial in buying Amorim time. It is something United came within a missed David de Gea penalty of achieving when Solskjaer's team were beaten by Unai Emery's Villarreal in the 2021 final.

"Everyone knows you need time to shape a team into what you want it to look like," said Solskjaer.

"But you have to manage it the best you can, not as you wish it was. There are things I want my team to do that this one can't. We have come into a difficult financial period. We have spent money, maybe not so wisely."

I point out that is an observation I have heard about another club close to his heart. Solskjaer is about to answer but checks himself.

"Yes. But that's, you know when you…….actually, I don't have to say that," he said.

"Look, recruitment is probably the most important thing in football.

"You need the structures right and you need to get the right people in.

"When you manage two, three, four or five different managers' players, it is hard to make it balance into a team you want to see. Everyone knows you need continuity and patience to get success, but not too many get it."

Solskjaer has not spoken to Mourinho since his arrival in Turkey and says he is looking forward to meeting him again.

I remind him of their spat in April 2021 – a week before Mourinho was sacked by Tottenham – when the Portuguese reacted badly to Solskjaer claiming Son Heung-min had cheated to ensure a United goal was disallowed.

"I would not feed my son if he behaved like that," chided the Norwegian at the time. Mourinho's response was classic: "Sonny is very lucky his father is a better person than Ole. As a father, you always have to feed your kids, even if you have to steal."

"I remember that one," shrugs Solskjaer. "You look after your own team.

"He has all the charisma of course and I don't think any of us change a lot when we have come this far.

"It will be good to see him again and hopefully the headlines will be about the team and the football that is played and nothing else."

Besiktas beat Galatasaray on 29 March but have won just once in four games since.

Solskjaer knows the atmosphere at the Sukru Saracoglu stadium will be white hot.

"I saw from Gala, when you are at home and winning these games there is nothing better," he says.

"If you are at home and you don't win, there is nothing worse.

"Football is decided by moments. You see last night [Thursday], Athletic had two or three massive chances and Victor saves one on the goal line. Then it all changes.

"The margins between winning and losing in football are so close. It is better to be lucky than good sometimes.

"Hopefully, it will be one of Jose's bad nights."