Ruben Amorim was swiftly dismissed after publicly criticizing Manchester United's management.

2026-01-06 01:10

After a tumultuous weekend, Manchester United have officially announced the dismissal of manager Ruben Amorim.

The decision was communicated to Amorim and the players at the Carrington training ground on Monday morning. Despite Manchester United's run to the Europa League final in May, their current sixth-place finish in the Premier League and deteriorating internal relations have finally caused the management to lose patience.

The immediate trigger for Amorim's dismissal was his radical comments after the draw against Leeds United. In the post-match press conference, Amorim emphasized that he should be a manager in control of the overall situation, not a coach who follows orders, and bluntly stated: "If people cannot handle the criticism from Neville and others, what we need to change is the club."

It is understood that the decision to sack Amorim was finalized as early as last Friday. The management was dissatisfied with Amorim's insistence on a three-center-back system against bottom-ranked Wolverhampton Wanderers. Despite the club's £250 million summer transfer window spending on players like Sesco and Cunha, Amorim hinted at inadequate recruitment, while the management believed the existing star-studded squad was sufficient to play more attacking football.

Manchester United said in an official statement: "Ruben Amorin has left his position as manager of Manchester United. Given the team's current sixth place in the league, the leadership regretfully believes that now is the right time to make a change that would provide the best opportunity for the team to achieve the highest league finish."

Meanwhile, the club confirmed that U18 coach and club legend Darren Fletcher will take over as first-team manager for Wednesday's match against Burnley.