Amorim era over

Ruben Amorim was United’s best manager ever and they should have kept him for 20 years—is what Liverpool and Manchester City fans might say. 

Ruben Amorim began his tenure at Manchester United on November 11th, 2024, and it ended abruptly on January 5th, 2026. He joined the club 11 games into the Premier League season, taking over for Erik Ten Hag, the previous manager who was sacked for unsatisfactory results. After Amorim’s very successful run as manager of Sporting CP in Portugal fans were optimistic about the Portuguese International. Things did not go to plan for Ruben though, and now after his sacking, there is much to discuss. 

Sunday, January 4th following Manchester United’s 1-1 draw to newly promoted Leeds United, Ruben Amorim held an unfiltered press conference that showed his frustration with the club. When asked if he still felt that he had backing and trust in his ability to manage United, Amorim dove into a rant and stated multiple times to reporters that he came to Manchester to “Be the manager of this team, not just the coach.”  

He erratically added that “Every department needs to do their job, I will do mine,” indicating his feeling that parts of the club are letting him down and hindering his ability to successfully manage. The Portuguese coach brought up the fact that his contract would be over in 18 months multiple times as well in this interview. It was clear from this that Ruben felt distrust from the board, and the next morning, he was fired. 

Manchester United, once the biggest football club in the world, has been on a rapid decline for more than a decade. The manager credited with the accomplishments of the club, Scottish Sir Alex Ferguson, retired in 2012 after 26 years at the helm as a very successful and very old man. The beating heart of the club was this one man, and when he left, it crumbled. United went through seven managers since Sir Alex, with none being able to replicate what the Scotsman achieved. The club went into extreme debt from excessive spending on players that often didn’t play their worth, and from paying out different managers’ contracts when terminating them. 

Becoming the manager of a football club is a daunting task. New players, new grounds, new bosses, not a job for the weak minded. To have to do this midway through the season, which is what Ruben Amorim did, makes it even harder. When the club is Manchester United, one of the biggest reputations in football but who have been underperforming for years, you have to be a little crazy to accept it. United are constantly scrutinized by the media and the manager often takes the brunt of it. Amorim was well aware of this coming into the job.  

In his first press conference Ruben Amorim was very confident, telling reporters that he believes in himself, the club, and the players, and even directly calling out the media for their pessimism on the possibility of United’s success. When asked how much time he will need to “repair” United, he recognized the teams desperate need to improve and stated that he “Has to win games to win time, and then to win titles.” 

Ruben came in very clear that he would play his 3-4-3 formation at United, and players that weren’t comfortable in it would adapt. The 3-4-3 utilizes 3 central defenders and 2 wing backs, forming a 5-man defence. The wingback position is not played much in modern football, but when done right it creates good ball movement and progression up the sides of the pitch. The players he had did not fit this playstyle though, there were no natural wingbacks at United, and people were constantly playing out of position. Captain Bruno Fernandes thrives in a creative attacking midfield role, but was suddenly stuck in a double pivot as a defensive midfielder.  

Portuguese Diogo Dalot, a left back who is terrible on the ball, was constantly a starting wingback and was detrimental to the team’s success. Some players who weren’t performing somehow started every week, giving confusion about the managers choices. Fans were most outraged about United’s home grown starboy, 20-year-old Kobbie Mainoo, who was stuck on the bench week in and week out.  

Ruben was incredibly stubborn with his playstyle, insisting that in time it would work. Whether that was very smart or very stupid, we will never know. 

Amorim was not afraid to make big changes in the club from the moment he got in. In his Manchester United, if you weren’t performing, you did not play. Antony, Garnacho, and even Marcus Rashford, the academy grown franchise player, were all frozen out of the starting 11 soon after Ruben arrived. In his first transfer window in January Amorim was not very active, but he did still make some big decisions, sending Rashford and Antony on loan, and acquiring Patrick Dorgu, a Danish defender that would come in to play as one of those wing backs that Amorim needed.  

Still, Amorim’s first season was nothing less than a disaster. Though the team did pick up a few good wins, including a 2-1 comeback over rival Manchester City thanks to a stunner from Amad Diallo, Ruben’s record for the 24/25 Premier League season was 7 wins, 6 draws, and an abysmal 14 losses. This led United to finishing 15th place in the league, the lowest United have finished in the Premier League ever, and almost 2 times worse than the result of the previous season with Ten Hag, 8th place.  

The real heartbreak for United fans though, came in the Europa League. United had a strong run in the tournament under Amorim and made it to the final against Tottenham Hotspurs, another Premier League side that the reds were heavily favoured to beat. Spurs beat United 1-0 and won the trophy. 

Ruben kept his job though, the club was giving him time, and the summer transfer window is where the real rebuild began. Antony and Alejandro Garnacho were sold, and Rasmus Hojlund and Andre Onana were loaned out, all to which fans said good riddance. Amorim made 4 important signings in the summer, Brian Mbuemo, Matheus Cunha, Benjamin Sesko, and Senne Lammens. All of these players would go on to make a positive impact on the team  

Amorim’s second season was highly anticipated by football fans, as it was a clean slate for him, finally a new season with new players, we could finally see what he could do. Right at the start of the season though, United would play League Two side Grimsby town, the fourth tier of English football – the Premier League being the first, in the Carabao Cup. This is one of those one-sided matches at the start of the tournament that aren’t really worth watching because one team should dominate. United managed to lose to Grimsby though, getting knocked out of the tournament in their first match and being thoroughly embarrassed in front of the whole football world.  

In the Prem, United were doing much better than last season, even climbing to fourth place for a short while. The problems were clear though. The team had trouble finishing chances even with Sesko, and had only 2 clean sheets in 20 games, despite the new keeper. Still, the stats weren’t bad. 8 wins, 7 draws, and 5 losses. The team was still unreliable, drawing 1-1 to all 3 relegation clubs, but nevertheless, United’s football was improved.  

With more time, Amorim could have done something special. So, it was a big surprise when he was sacked. In October, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, co-owner of the club, had told reporters that he was backing Amorim for three years, giving him time and saying, “Football is not overnight.”  

The draw against Leeds was a terrible result; there is no denying this. But fans began to speculate that the Portuguese manager was sacked more for the comments he made against the board after the match. 

Well-known United fan Mark Goldbridge gave his take on a stream the same morning. Goldbridge showed his frustration with the decision and said he hasn’t been sacked for bad results. “He’s been sacked for calling out an incompetent board that hasn’t backed him.” The streamer called the position of manager at Manchester United “untenable” and said that not even the best manager in the world, Pep Guardiola, would succeed at United with the current ownership. Goldbridge said that it is a never-ending cycle at United where “When things go wrong both the players and the board know that they can throw the manager under the bus.” 

Ruben Amorim’s win rate was around 39% in all competitions, the lowest ever of a Manchester United manager.  

So, while it’s very possible the board sacked him for childish reasons, the stats don’t lie. 

Cover image: youtube.com-beanymansports