Ole Gunnar Solskjaer tells South American stars to put club before country

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has told his South American stars to put club before country when deciding whether or not to travel for the upcoming international break.

A tug of war has broken out between federations and clubs, with Premier League sides reluctant to let players leave due to the ten-day isolation period they would have to observe if they travel to countries on the United Kingdom's red list.

Fred and Edinson Cavani are among the Premier League players who would likely have to miss matches if they travel to South America, and Solskjaer has urged the duo to remain at Old Trafford to be available for games after the international break.

Solskjaer said: "I don't want to be the manager who always moans, but it's a fact that if you have to have 10 days in a hotel quarantining with no chance to train, no chance to keep your fitness up then you'll need another 10-14 days to get back up to fitness again and then you've got to fly again.

"It's an impossible situation for the clubs, it's an impossible situation for the players. We understand that there are rules and broader issues here, that's why we have to follow the rules and get on with it.

"I don't want to be the moaning one but if there was a choice for me, playing for Norway or playing for Man Utd, I know who my employer is. Yes, it's my country but the rules are as they are at the moment. Anyway, I'm not a player any more."

If Fred and Cavani were to travel for the international break, they would be ruled out of United's Premier League matches against Newcastle and West Ham, as well as their Champions League opener against Young Boys in Switzerland.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has written to prime minister Boris Johnson in the hope of finding a compromise that would allow players to travel without later needing to quarantine, and Solskjaer added that United would accept whatever decision is made.

He added: "The Premier League made the decision they did, La Liga did, of course we’re all hoping for a solution but we leave that to the authorities.

"It’s the start of a very, very difficult and long season, a very important season, we’ll see what happens and hopefully there’s a solution. We’ll just have to follow the rules."

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