Rúben Amorim was sacked by Manchester United on January 5, the day after the 1-1 draw away to Leeds United. He was signed from Sporting CP on November 11, 2024 after historic success in Portugal, but delivered weak results in his 63 appearances for United.
In his 229 games for Sporting, Ruben Amorim had a PPM of 2.28 while the corresponding figure for Manchester United was 1.43. Bad for a club that has the world’s second most expensive squad. (besides Saudi Arabia where they don’t really play football)
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Amorim’s sacking came as no surprise – it was more surprising that United waited so long. Manager for the rest of the season, Michael Carrick, is off to a brilliant start to his tenure, delivering three straight Premier League wins in a row and raising hopes of Champions League qualification and a huge rain of money.
Criticism of management before dismissal
After the Leeds game, just before he was dismissed, Amorim made statements that could easily be perceived as indirect criticism of the club’s management, including director of football Jason Wilcox. He also stated that he had come to United to be “a manager, not a coach”.
Darren Fletcher first took over on an interim basis, before former United player Michael Carrick was hired as interim manager for the rest of the season.
Almost a month after his resignation, Amorim has still not spoken publicly about his resignation or said goodbye to the club’s supporters.
Louis van Gaal issued a statement when he was sacked in 2016, and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was interviewed by United’s media department after his departure in 2021. José Mourinho, on the other hand, waited a month before commenting on his exit, as a pundit in beIN Sports.
Amorim’s silence is therefore not unusual, and the Daily Mail now reveals the specific reason behind the Portuguese’s decision.
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Waiting until the end of the season
According to “well-placed sources in Portugal”, Amorim has chosen to wait until the end of the season before making a statement about his departure.
The reason is that the 40-year-old will not interfere with United’s pursuit of Champions League qualification under interim manager Carrick.
Carrick has led the club to three straight wins so far, including a convincing 2-0 win over Manchester City at Old Trafford and a 3-2 win away to Arsenal.
United also beat Fulham 3-2 at home on Sunday, after leading 2-0 before their opponent equalised twice late in the second half. Benjamin Šeško’s winning goal in the 98th minute secured the three points.
Assistant’s farewell greeting
While Amorim has kept quiet, his assistant Carlos Fernandes said goodbye on Instagram last month:
Financial agreement
It should also be mentioned that Amorim has a significant bonus related to Champions League and Europa League qualification, which still applies as he led United for over half of the season.
His annual salary was £6.5 million, and the bonus for Champions League qualification amounts to 25% of that amount – that is, £1.625 million, or about 21 million kroner.
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