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Bizarre press conferences, benching promising youngsters and lack of results - What went wrong for Amorim at Man Utd?
Manchester United are looking for a new head coach a little under three months after Jim Ratcliffe gave Ruben Amorim his seal of approval.
So what happened to convince Ratcliffe and the Red Devils' board to part ways with Amorim after publicly preaching patience with the now-former Man United boss?
DAZN News' Rudi Schuller looks at the key factors behind Amorim's sacking.
- Read next | Six candidates who could be the new Manchester United manager after Ruben Amorim is sacked by club
Prickly relationship with the media
It became apparent early on that Amorim didn't love the public-facing nature of the job.
As the key on-field decision-maker for one of the biggest clubs in the world, it should be obvious that the lights shine far brighter for Man United's head coach than all but a handful of peers on Earth.
Amorim stepped into the spotlight after a successful spell at Sporting CP. And while the pressures of guiding a big club like Sporting are not to be underestimated, Amorim's success shielded a lot of the criticism that would become standard in his next gig.
Even if his Sporting spell went poorly, it's fair to say that the intensity of the media gaze in his native Portugal would pale in comparison to that which he experienced as Man United boss.
With the team struggling, Amorim's clear disdain for the growing number of questions about his job security came to a head in his final press confererce as Man United head coach when he cut off reporters for use of "selective information" before launching into one last diatribe.
"If people cannot handle the Gary Nevilles and the criticisms of everything, we need to change the club," he said, referring to the former Red Devils defender who is now a pundit and was often a critic of Amorim's tactics.
In fact, the club ended up changing its head coach instead.
No time for Kobbie Mainoo
A simple Google search will provide a thousand different critiques of Amorim's tactics and player selection over his time in charge at Old Trafford, with everything from a perceived tactical inflexibility to his insistence on sticking with certain underperforming players among the issues discussed by fans and pundits alike.
But one thing that tends to unite critics and earn managers more leeway is the use of young, promising players from the club's academy system.
The Red Devils have had a number of such wunderkinds throughout their history of course, and Amorim's mishandling of Kobbie Mainoo was another strike against him.
Mainoo is a Man United product through and through, having been with the club since he was seven before signing his first professional deal as a 17-year-old in 2022.
The then-teenager was a breath of fresh air at a time when the club needed one — a potential homegrown superstar in the mould of the youngsters from the early 1990s who grew into leaders in one of the most successful periods of the club's existence.
While no one was seriously expecting Mainoo to lead a new generation of homegrown starlets to become the modern-day Class of '92, his playing style and ability to effortlessly slot into the Man United midfield despite his lack of experience was a welcome sight amid a tumultuous period for the club, and his rise to prominence coincided with the team's most recent success: their 2024 FA Cup final victory over Manchester City in which Mainoo scored the winning goal.
Yet Amorim's arrival had a negative effect on Mainoo's playing time as the new boss tinkered with the lineup in search of a winning formula.
The youngster made 37 total appearances in 2024-25 and looked to be a lock in the Red Devils' midfield for years to come before seeing his minutes slashed dramatically — so far this season Mainoo has featured just 12 times across all competitions, with 11 appearances in the Premier League for a total of 211 minutes.
It's not that Mainoo has been poor, either. The 20-year-old ranks in the 84th percentile or higher for non-penalty goals per 90 (0.18), progressive carries (2.05), successful take-ons (1.16), touches in the attacking penalty area (3.11), and progress passes received (3.91).
Those are all the statistics of a player who not only succeeds in the attacking half of the field, but one that also combines well with his teammates when the ball is moving forward — attributes that could help Man United turn some of the glut of draws (they are joint-third in the league with seven) into wins.
Calling out his bosses
It's never good to throw your bosses under the bus, especially when things aren't going so well.
But that's exactly what Amorim did in his now-infamous press conference after the team's 1-1 draw with Leeds United on Sunday, after reportedly getting into a heated confrontation with the club's director of football, Jason Wilcox.
"I came here to be the manager of Manchester United, not to be the coach of Manchester United, and that is clear," Amorim said after Sunday's match, Man United's second consecutive draw.
"I know that my name is not (Thomas) Tuchel, it's not (Antonio) Conte, it's not (Jose) Mourinho, but I'm the manager of Manchester United. It's going to be like this for 18 months or when the board decides to change."
It was a stunning declaration from the 40-year-old, who seemingly dared the club's higher-ups to sack him while putting an expiry date on his own job.
"And every department — the scouting department, the sports director — needs to do their job," Amorim added.
"I will do mine for 18 months and then we move on."
Wilcox and chief executive Omar Berrada did not wait that long, as they delivered Amorim his walking papers less than 24 hours later.
Terrible results
This is the primary reason Amorim is no longer employed by Man United.
Brought aboard to bring in a fresh perspective and new ideas to a floundering club, Amorim failed to find success equal to even the most maligned of his predecessors.
In charge for 63 games, Amorim led the team to 24 wins, 18 draws and 21 losses for a win percentage of 38.1. That number drops to just 31.9% in league matches for an average of 1.23 points per game, the lowest of any of the club's permanent managers (or head coaches) since the incorporation of the Premier League.
Compare that to the previous five Man United bosses, who recorded win percentages from 50 on the low end to 58 at the high end — even the oft-disparaged Erik ten Hag had far more success than Amorim.
At the end of the day, it's a results-based business. And Amorim's numbers speak for themselves.
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