MANCHESTER UNITED FIRES AMORIM

Manchester United have sacked Ruben Amorim, closing the curtain on a turbulent 14-month spell characterized by poor results, internal tension and increasingly public confrontations with the club’s football leadership.

The decision was confirmed on Monday morning, less than 24 hours after United were held to a 1–1 draw by Leeds United at Elland Road, a result that left the club sixth in the Premier League - exposing an underperformance in another expected win.

Amorim arrived at Old Trafford in November 2024 with a reputation as a strong tactician and authority figure. But the numbers that followed steadily eroded confidence in his project.
Across 63 matches in all competitions, Amorim recorded:
25 wins
15 draws
23 defeats
A win rate of 38.71 %

That return stands as the lowest win percentage of any permanent Manchester United manager since the Premier League era began in 1992.

United finished the 2024–25 season in 15th place, their worst top-flight finish in decades, and despite some recovery this season, performances remained erratic and fragile.

A run to the Europa League final offered brief respite, but domestic inconsistency continued to define Amorim’s reign.

The final rupture came at Elland Road, where United dropped points for the second time in four days. After going behind to Brenden Aaronson’s second-half strike, Matheus Cunha equalised on 65 minutes, but United failed to push on.

Amorim’s tactical decisions drew scrutiny. He fielded six defenders, introduced Joshua Zirkzee from a bench largely made up of Under-21 players, and appeared short of senior options amid injuries and AFCON absences affecting players including Bruno Fernandes, Matthijs de Ligt, Mason Mount, Bryan Mbeumo and Amad Diallo.

Moments after the Leeds draw, Amorim walked out of his own press conference after delivering a pointed message aimed at the club’s football leadership, overseen by INEOS.
“I came here to be manager of Manchester United, not the coach,” he said.
“Every department, the scouting department, the sporting director, needs to do their job. I will do mine, for 18 months, and then we move on.”

Pressed on whether he still felt the confidence of the board, Amorim doubled down.
“I know that my name is not [Thomas] Tuchel. It's not [Antonio] Conte. It's not [Jose] Mourinho. I'm the manager of Manchester United.
“It's going to be like this for 18 months, or until the board decide to change.”

He later added:
“I’m not going to quit. I will do my job until another guy comes here to replace me.”

Amorim’s position had been weakening long before Leeds. After a 1–1 home draw against Wolves, United were booed at full-time, prompting a scathing analysis from Gary Neville .

“They weren’t just booed off,” Neville said. “The fans stayed in the stadium to continue to boo them… that was the baddest of the bad.”

The former Man U right back criticised Amorim’s return to a back-three system, calling it ineffective and overly complicated, and labelled several substitutions “bizarre,” adding that they actively made the team worse.

Further pressure followed when Amorim was accused of ‘throwing academy players under the bus’ during a press conference in December, after singling out Harry Amass, Chido Obi and Toby Collyer while discussing Kobbie Mainoo’s lack of minutes.

The comments drew backlash from fans, particularly after Amass was named Sheffield Wednesday’s Player of the Month, contradicting Amorim’s description of the youngster as “struggling.”

On the touchline, tensions were also visible. During a Boxing Day win over Newcastle, Amorim was spotted going “berserk” at Joshua Zirkzee for not pressing, a moment that underlined growing frustration within the squad despite the victory.

When news of Amorim’s dismissal broke, reaction was swift across social media. One moment, however, stood out.
Former United forward Alejandro Garnacho, who left the club after a public falling-out with Amorim, was quick to ‘like’ an Instagram post by Fabrizio Romano confirming the sacking — a subtle but widely noticed response given their history.

Amorim departs Old Trafford having signed a three-and-a-half-year contract, but lasting little more than a third of it. His tenure will be remembered for bold ideas and great optimism to "Make Manchester Great Again," but he seemingly never lived upto task.

United now turn once again to an interim solution under former United midfielder Darren Fletcher, currently managing their under-18s and expected to oversee their upcoming Premier League fixture against Burnley on Wednesday as they search for their next permanent manager, hoping to arrest a cycle that has now claimed yet another high-profile appointment.

Amorim 's sacking comes barely a week after Chelsea fired there head coach Enzo Maresca under the same circumstances of underperformance especially in the most expected win situations.