MANCHESTER United stormed to victory 3-1 against Paris Saint-Germain earlier this week – and man of the moment caretaker manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer looks set to land the job full time.
But there’s a driving force behind Ole, 45, and that’s his wife of 18 years, glamorous Norwegian WAG Silje Solskaer, 44.
Rex Features
Getty – Contributor
The couple moved to the UK in 1996 and became best friends with Beckhams, put their son into nursery with Brooklyn Beckham and even started a property empire now worth £5million.
As Man U fans up and down the country celebrate a return to glory for their team, we take a look inside the lavish world of Silje, Ole and their three kids.
‘I went to football training to see her’
Silje and Ole started dating in 1992 after meeting in Kristiansund, Norway, where Ole was playing for Clausenengen football club.
Eamon Clarke
You might not guess it from Silje’s uber-glam appearance with her long blonde hair and immaculate outfits but she was once a footballer herself – and that’s how she met Ole.
Speaking to Se Her magazine in 2015, Ole spoke about Silje and said: “Silje was a very good football player. We often trained together when we were younger.
“Back in Clausenengen we had a kids’ football training group in the morning that I really was too old to go to – I used to go because I knew Silje was there.”
They briefly broke things off while Ole was in the military because, according to reports, Silje thought she had fallen out of love.
Rex Features
Rex Features
However, they rekindled their romance soon after and got married in 2004 in Florida.
The pair then had a lavish honeymoon in the Caribbean, spending time relaxing on the beach and by the pool.
PA:Press Association
Before their wedding, Silje said: “I couldn’t have a better boyfriend than Ole Gunnar. He is incredibly kind and thoughtful.”
The pair went on to have three kids together, Noah, 18, daughter, Karna, 15, and youngest son Elijah, 10.
Mirrorpix
Best pals with Posh and Becks
The couple went on to live in the UK twice when Ole played for Manchester United between 1996 and 2006, as well as in Wales when he managed Cardiff in 2004.
Silje became good friends with David Beckham when Ole was playing for Man U, and the couple attended Posh and Becks’ wedding together in July 1999 at Luttrellstown Castle.
PA:Press Association
On the big day, Silje wore her hair styled in the same kind of spiky short crop that Posh wore at the time, with a smart black suit.
Victoria told Dagbladet magazine in 2001 that son Brooklyn loved nothing more than playing with Sillje and Ole’s son Noah in the Manchester United players’ nursery.
check copyright
PA:Press Association
The pair were also spotted leaving Brooklyn’s third birthday party at Manchester’s Film Works with son Noah in tow.
Posh also revealed that she “liked” the pair very much.
PA:Press Association
Mirrorpix
A keen shopper, Silje was often spotted in St Ann’s Square in Manchester – a WAG favourite, close to Selfridges.
Firmly in with the football set, the pair also went to the wedding of Phil Neville in the Lancashire town of Rawtenstall in 1999.
Eamonn and James Clarke
The pair’s £5million property empire
Silje and Ole invested in a Cheshire mansion during his stint as a player for Man U, which is now said to be worth £4million.
The flash five-bedroom pad is currently being rented to Liverpool star Virgil Van Dijk.
The couple’s mansion was described as an “impressive and substantial” contemporary house when it was put on the market.
Getty Images – Getty
Xposure
The grounds also boast a garage, an “extensive” rear garden, “sweeping lawns”, a large gravel driveway with plenty of room for parking and a front paddock with stables.
Since his return to the UK and with his property occupied, Ole lived at the five-star Lowry Hotel in Salford – where suites cost between £600 and £2,000 per night – whilst the rest of the family stayed in Norway.
Former Man U boss Jose Mourinho racked up a £779,000 bill at the hotel when he lived there for an impressive 127 weeks.
Cavendish Press
The £3k secret to Silje’s perfect skin
She might be 44 but Silje has the skin of a woman ten years younger.
Aesthetic consultant physician Dr Ifeoma Ejikeme at the Adonia Medical Clinic said that her secret will be down to a strict skincare routine and medical-grade facial.
She said: “For flawless skin with no pigmentation Silje will probably be having regular course of retinol peels, four times a year.
“Her skin looks completely poreless, which is probably the result of an advanced facial that uses a mix of micro-needling, microdermabrasion, hydrogen, oxygen and an LED light mask.”
Dr Ekikeme also said that Silke is likely to have botox four times a year around the eyes and forehead at a cost of around £250 each time.
She adds: “She will also have a daily skin routine, including a 50 factor sunscreen with retinol and vitamin C. The whole package will cost her around £3,000 a year.”
PA:Press Association
‘We wanted our kids to grow up in Norway’
The pair also own a £1million seafront mansion in their hometown of Kristiansund with an outdoor swimming pool.
In December last year residents erected a Hollywood-style sign in Kristiansund’s hills in honour of Ole that reads “20 Legend” – a reference to his shirt number when he was playing at Man U.
Silje and Ole have favoured bringing their kids up in Kristiansund due to the peace and quiet and lack of traffic.
The kids are known to be into football, though Ole revealed that his son Noah’s favourite player isn’t him – it’s actually Wayne Rooney.
Ole told Four Four Two: “Noah was only six [when he said Rooney was his favourite player], but he still knew how to hurt his dad.”
Alamy
The area is known for its natural beauty, while locals like to take part in sporty activities at the weekends such as hiking, ice skating and yoga.
The best restaurant in town is Bryggekanten, a waterside brasserie that serves fish dishes with a view of Kristiansund’s harbour.
In 2010 Ole told Dagbladet: “The kids get a different upbringing here than they would have had in Manchester or Cardiff.”
“It has been very nice to see how the kids have it at home. It’s an upbringing Silje and I both had, and that was the main reason we moved home.
“Now friends and buddies come and knock on the door. It’s really impossible to put any price and words on how important that value is.”
However they will have to get their heads around a possible move back to the UK now that their dad is doing so well at Man U.
