Watch Paparazzi

Football manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer spotted wearing Tag Heuer

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, spotted pitchside during his time managing Manchester United, was photographed wearing a stainless steel Tag Heuer Monaco chronograph with a blue dial, reference CAW2111.FC6183. The sighting places a genuine horological classic on the wrist of one of football's most recognisable figures — a man whose career has always carried a certain quiet weight.

The Tag Heuer Monaco CAW2111.FC6183 is among the more restrained iterations of a model that could never truly be called restrained. Housed in a 39mm square stainless steel case — a geometry that remains genuinely unusual in fine watchmaking — it features a sunray-brushed blue dial with silver-toned subdials at 3 and 9 o'clock, and a date window at 6. The signature crown-on-the-left placement, a direct throwback to the original Jack Heuer and Genta-influenced design from 1969, is present and correct. Power comes from the Calibre 11, an automatic column-wheel chronograph movement based on the Valjoux 7750 architecture, offering a 42-hour power reserve.

The Monaco's place in watch history is singular. Launched the same year as the Zenith El Primero and the Hamilton-Buren-based Calibre 11 that originally powered it, the Monaco was the centrepiece of Tag Heuer's audacious push into haute horlogerie. Its association with Steve McQueen in the 1971 film Le Mans permanently embedded the reference in popular culture. The CAW2111.FC6183, with its blue dial, is one of the cleaner, more wearable expressions of the current Monaco lineup — less theatrical than the Gulf-coloured editions, and more suited to daily wear.

Solskjaer's choice reflects the sensibility of a seasoned professional who understands image without being enslaved to it. The Monaco is recognisable enough to signal taste, but not so ostentatious as to invite distraction. For a manager navigating the pressures of Old Trafford, it is, perhaps, exactly the right watch.

On the market, the Tag Heuer Monaco CAW2111.FC6183 carries a UK list price of approximately £4,395, translating to roughly $5,500 USD at retail. Grey market values sit close to or slightly below retail, making this one of the more accessible entry points into an iconic chronograph with genuine motorsport and cinema heritage.