Manchester United have sacked manager Ruben Amorim after 14 months in charge of the club.
The Portuguese’s final game was their 1-1 draw with Leeds United in the Premier League. The former Sporting CP boss joined the club in 2024, after achieving the Primeira Liga’s Manager of the Year and the club’s first title in 19 years.
However, his spell at Old Trafford has not gone to plan. Humiliating defeats to Grimsby Town, alongside a record of 23 defeats in 63 games has lead to criticism from many of the club’s fans.
The defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, in the Europa League Final also raised discussion on his future.
The club have released the following statement:
“Ruben Amorim has departed his role as Head Coach of Manchester United. Ruben was appointed in November 2024 and led the team to a UEFA Europa League Final in Bilbao in May. With Manchester United sitting sixth in the Premier League, the club’s leadership has reluctantly made the decision that it is the right time to make a change. This will give the team the best opportunity of the highest possible Premier League finish. The club would like to thank Ruben for his contribution to the club and wishes him well for the future. Darren Fletcher will take charge of the team against Burnley on Wednesday.”
What Prompted Manchester United to Sack Ruben Amorim?
Reports started to emerge yesterday that a rift was appearing between Amorim and senior club staff including Jason Wilcox. It had been suggested that a request had been made for the manager to become more tactically flexible with such a threadbare squad at his disposal.
Then after the Leeds United game, Amorim gave a firey interview defending his position.
‘I noticed that you receive selective information about everything. I came here to be the manager of MU, not to be the coach of MU, that’s clear. I know that my name is not Tuchel, it’s not Conte, it’s not Mourinho, but I’m the manager of MU.’
“I am not going to quit. I am going to do my job until another guy is coming here to replace me. I am going to be the manager of this team, not just the coach. That is going to finish in 18 months and then everyone is going to move on. I came here to be the manager.”
‘I just want to say that I came here to be the manager of Man Utd not the head coach. That’s going to finish in 18 months and then everyone is going to move on. That’s the deal, that’s my job.’
‘If people cannot handle the Gary Nevilles and the critics, we need to change the club. No, guys, I just want to say that. I came here to be the manager of MU, not to be the coach, and every dept, the scouting dept, the sport director needs to do their job.’
Further reports suggested that the club’s hierarchy were not happy with the comments.
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