{"id":40345,"date":"2026-01-05T12:57:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T12:57:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/?p=40345"},"modified":"2026-01-05T12:57:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T12:57:12","slug":"ruben-amorim-sacked-by-manchester-united-live-updates-manchester-united","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/?p=40345","title":{"rendered":"Ruben Amorim sacked by Manchester United \u2013 live updates | Manchester United"},"content":{"rendered":"

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This is an interesting take<\/strong> from United fan Huw Moxon:<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve let our standards slip as a club if we think what we\u2019ve seen under Amorim is acceptable. Sure, there was need for a reset and some shifting of expectations but results have been pretty disastrous on the whole – we\u2019re lucky to be where we are in the table, and other clubs have sacked managers for far less. Arguably a fault of United\u2019s is we\u2019ve been too patient with managers; all of the LVG, Mourinho, Ole and ETH reigns were marked by a slow and painful slide towards the inevitable. A big disappointment was we didn\u2019t see any new manager bounce with Amorim \u2013 the complete opposite \u2013 but fans were willing to an extent to give him time to turn it around. Some of the outbursts and home performances in recent weeks lost those moderate fans, and I don\u2019t think he can have any complaints about getting the chop.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI\u2019d like to see United settle on something now,\u201d<\/strong> says Jeremy Doherty on email. \u201cWith some respected ex-players in key staffing positions to influence the culture and standards positively. Keane as assistant manager might scare the players into performing, but I think he is likely too volatile, unfortunately (it would be a laugh though, wouldn\u2019t it!). A tactician and sound man-manager at the helm with support from ex-players around him would work. Ole (again), Emery, or Tuchel would be good. Xavi maybe \u2013 but he might be too much of a Hollywood signing!\u201d<\/p>\n

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I\u2019ve already had three emails<\/strong> suggesting Roy Keane as the next appointment\u2026<\/p>\n

Now that would be entertaining, albeit unlikely.<\/p>\n

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Contenders to be next permanent United manager<\/h2>\n

According to the bookmakers, these are the most likely current 10 names to take the permanent reins. We don\u2019t promote gambling here so I won\u2019t include bookies\u2019 names or the odds, but make of this list what you will.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll shortly get to some emails about what United could and should do next \u2026<\/p>\n

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A penny for Kobbie Mainoo\u2019s thoughts in all of this.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The United academy graduate is one of the most popular current players with fans but was basically frozen out by Amorim, who came to hold the belief that Mainoo could only play in one position in his 3-4-3 \u2013 the one occupied by captain Bruno Fernandes. Mainoo was expected by many to leave the club, most likely on loan, this month.<\/p>\n

United say the player has had a calf injury that has ruled him out of the past four games \u2013 coinciding with Fernandes\u2019 injury. Just before that his brother was pictured wearing a \u2018free Kobbie Mainoo\u2019 t-shirt at Old Trafford.<\/p>\n

Mainoo enjoyed a stellar 2024, breaking into United side, starring in the FA Cup win that year and then starting the Euro 2024 final for England after some impressive Three Lions displays. You\u2019d have to think any new manager would restore the 20-year-old to the team \u2013 it would be an easy way to reinvigorate supporters.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Kobbie Mainoo has outlasted Ruben Amorim at Manchester United.<\/span> Photograph: Paul Currie\/ShutterstockShare<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d have Amorim higher than Moyes in the rankings,\u201d<\/strong> says Joshua Keeling. \u201cAmorim took over a shambles mid-season, Moyes took over the champions.<\/p>\n

\u201cFully agree with Solskjaer in first place though. His teams produced the best football we\u2019ve seen post-Ferguson. It was exciting, attacking football, scoring plenty of goals \u2013 exactly what a fan wants to see. Signing Ronaldo ultimately ruined his project. Where would United be if that money had gone on Rice instead?\u201d<\/p>\n

Solskjaer wanted Rice, Bellingham and Haaland \u2026 he got none of them.<\/em><\/p>\n

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According to our very own Jamie Jackson,<\/strong> United are adamant there have been no power clashes and that the stance is Amorim was given 100 per cent backing but he was sacked due to a lack of progress.<\/p>\n

Either way, the hierarchy cannot<\/em> have liked these comments:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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On the other hand, some are rather more critical of Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos \u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s Jason Jawonda: \u201cIt\u2019s not like Ineos didn\u2019t know that Amorim was stubborn when they hired him. That was the point: back him to implement his system and give it time to work. Progress has been slow, but with a complete rebuild it will be.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they wanted a manager to fit the system, they should have hired one 18 months ago. Now, they\u2019re looking at getting someone who\u2019ll inherit a squad built by Solskjaer, Ten Hag, Amorim and countless others, and be expected to implement a system designed by a committee. Nevermind a (supposedly) top level football club, this is no way to run a three-legged race.\u201d<\/p>\n

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My inbox is packed.<\/strong> Here\u2019s a very measured email from David Flynn on Amorim and what United will\/should do next:<\/p>\n

Lets be clear here, the board shouldn\u2019t have appointed him the first place. It was never the right call to try to steady the ship by appointing a manager who needed to buy a new squad to play in his very specific way. But it is the right call to sack him now, before he does anymore damage. As it stands, the style hasn\u2019t bedded in at all and despite all the money spent, it\u2019s still very much a squad that a new manager can just come in and play 4-3-3 or a midfield diamond or whatever. So do they come out about even on the credit to blame ratio?<\/p>\n

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\u2026. and breathe.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Keep your emails and comments coming \u2013 I\u2019m interested in your thoughts on my rankings, especially. I\u2019ll get to them after making a very quick coffee.<\/p>\n

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7. Ruben Amorim (2024-2026) \u2013 39% win rate<\/strong><\/p>\n

Despite the signs of progress in his second season and his charismatic approach that charmed supporters (for a time), Amorim must be considered United\u2019s worst permanent manager of the post-Ferguson era. Fitting the squad into his strict 3-4-3 system always felt clunky and it is unsurprising that tensions around that formation and buying players for it has brought about the Portuguese\u2019s demise. Finishing 15th and losing an abject Europa League final to a shambolic Spurs side will be Amorim\u2019s Old Trafford epitaph.<\/p>\n

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6. Ralf Rangnick (2021-22) \u2013 38% win rate<\/strong><\/p>\n

The German was appointed on an interim basis after the panicked sacking of Solskjaer, with a view to taking a consultancy role upstairs. That move ultimately never happened as United grew increasingly unhappy with Rangnick\u2019s criticism of them in public utterances. \u2018Wreck It Ralf\u2019 failed spectacularly on the pitch with his funky 4-2-2-2 formation, but at least he told the Glazers where they were going wrong. His \u201copen heart surgery\u201d comments proved prophetic.<\/p>\n

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5. David Moyes (2013-2014) \u2013 53% win rate<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is slim pickings towards the bottom of this list but Moyes ranks as the best of the worst because of the dud hand he was dealt. Ferguson\u2019s \u2018Chosen One\u2019 was booted out of the door after the club failed to land any of his key transfer targets, Marouane Fellaini aside. Still, the United job always seemed too big for Moyes, who underperformed with a team that had just won the title, albeit it was ageing and in dire need of repair.<\/p>\n

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4. Louis van Gaal (2014-2016) \u2013 52% win rate<\/strong><\/p>\n

Another Dutch manager who brought a cup triumph to United but whose football failed to live up to expectations. Van Gaal endeared himself to fans via his colourful press conferences but was probably past his managerial peak by the time he rolled up at Old Trafford. His preferred 3-5-2 yielded some numbingly dull performances \u2013 United recorded six goalless draws in Van Gaal\u2019s second season and he was justifiably sacked immediately after FA Cup victory over Crystal Palace.<\/p>\n

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3. Erik ten Hag (2022-2024) \u2013 55% win rate<\/strong><\/p>\n

On the face of it, neutrals may argue Ten Hag ought to be higher in this list, given he masterminded successes in the League Cup (2023) and FA Cup (2024) with the latter among United\u2019s most memorable modern victories. But the Dutchman arrived in the summer of 2022 promising to implement his Ajax style and never came close to replicating his achievements in the Netherlands. By the end of his tenure, United were a tactical mess and failing to sack him in the summer of 2024 was an INEOS error.<\/p>\n

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2. Jose Mourinho (2016-2018) \u2013 58% win rate<\/strong><\/p>\n

Solskjaer\u2019s predecessor still has the highest win ratio and best trophy record of any manager since Ferguson, but the Old Trafford faithful struggled to warm to his defensive football and combative press conferences. The highs were very high (Europa League glory in Stockholm in 2017, denying City the title with that 3-2 comeback derby win in 2018) but The Special One was never beloved in Manchester, despite his belief that finishing second in 2017-18 ranks with his greatest achievements.<\/p>\n

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1. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (2018-2021) \u2013 54% win rate<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Norwegian started off as a caretaker and his impact was so great that United granted him the full-time job. Undoubtedly the best football of the post-Ferguson era was played under Solskjaer, who preferred his side to counter-attack at speed and enjoyed a sensational record against Manchester City and Pep Guardiola, beating them three times at the Etihad. Came second in the league in 2020-201 but was denied an elusive trophy by the agonising 2021 Europa League final defeat to Villarreal on penalties.<\/p>\n

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Ruben Amorim\u2019s exit brings to mind the disparate cast of Manchester United managers post-Sir Alex Ferguson.<\/strong> The club have endured some major troughs in the past 12-and-a-half years, with the odd fleeting peak. Where does Amorim rank? Towards the bottom of the list no doubt, but how low?<\/p>\n

Not discounting caretakers or interims (Ryan Giggs, Michael Carrick, Ruud van Nistelrooy and now Darren Fletcher have all held that role since 2013) United have had seven managers since Ferguson\u2019s retirement. Ralf Rangnick was an interim but since he was afforded a fair chunk of games, we will include the German.<\/p>\n

We will start off with the least shambolic \u2026<\/p>\n

<\/span>Managing Manchester United with Sir Alex Ferguson looming in the directors\u2019 box has been an unenviable task in recent years. <\/span> Photograph: David Blunsden\/Action Plus\/ShutterstockShare<\/p>\n

Updated at\u00a006.09 EST<\/p>\n

Some more emails:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Emmanuel Otiotio says: <\/strong>\u201cBetween the generally poor performances and results, the rather abhorrent (too strong a word?) win ratio and the tactical rigidity, [Amorim] has no one else to blame but himself for this outcome. INEOS and their \u2018best-in-class\u2019 claims should, however, feel a large brunt of the fan\u2019s rage; this was a farce from Ashworth\u2019s sacking to the incredibly underwhelming business to support a Europa League run and attempt at a respectable league finish last season. <\/p>\n

\u201dI\u2019d like to see Xavi appointed, given his propensity for youth, defensive nous and love for wingers. Not sure he\u2019d be happy to return to another \u2018super club\u2019 circus so soon anyhow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben Hennessy adds:<\/strong> \u201cI\u2019m sure plenty will be pleased with this news (some pundits especially), but it seems crazy to blame results when Utd are joint fifth in the table. The Guardian\u2019s own prediction this season was ninth. They\u2019ve beaten Liverpool, Chelsea, Palace and Newcastle, and have lost only twice since 1 October. Just watching them you can see they\u2019re a better team than last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast season was dross but Amorim warned joining mid-season would be rough \u2013 \u2018the storm\u2019, he called it. If he\u2019s fallen out with the hierarchy then fair enough; Maresca already learned that\u2019s a fight you ain\u2019t gonna win. But is 14 months really a reasonable timeframe to turn the clunking behemoth that is Manchester United around completely?\u201d<\/p>\n

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An email has landed<\/strong> in my inbox from Stewart MacNeill, who says: \u201cClearly the fault lies with the owners and the hierarchy they appointed to carry out their wishes. Until they are replaced no manager will succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Amorim was INEOS\u2019s first appointment, to be fair Stewart. But it has not gone well. Nor did the appointment of their first-choice director of football, Dan Ashworth, or the first major managerial decision they had to make (keeping Erik ten Hag after the 2024 FA Cup final only to sack him months later).<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll get to more of your emails shortly.<\/p>\n

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What next for Manchester United?<\/h2>\n

In the short-term Manchester United have announced that Darren Fletcher will take over on interim basis \u2013 he will be in the dugout when United take on Burnley at Turf Moor on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n

Fletcher is unlikely be granted the permanent job, however, with the bookmakers currently putting Xavi, Oliver Glasner, Gareth Southgate and Enzo Maresca, among others, at the top of their odds lists.<\/p>\n

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Or was the writing on the wall<\/strong> at Grimsby in late August, tactics board, not watching the penalties, humiliating cup exit and all that?<\/p>\n

<\/span>Ruben Amorim and his tactics board in the defeat to Grimsby in the Carabao Cup.<\/span> Photograph: Sky SportsShare<\/p>\n

Those comments<\/strong> after the Leeds game really spelled the end for Amorim.<\/p>\n

I came here to be the manager of Manchester United \u2013 not to be the coach of Manchester United. That is clear. I know my name is not Tuchel, Mourinho or Conte but I\u2019m the manager. It\u2019s going to be like this for 18 months or until the board decide to change. I\u2019m not going to quit, I will do my job until another guy is coming here to replace me.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Amorim watches on during United\u2019s 1-1 draw at Leeds, which proved to be his final game in charge.<\/span> Photograph: Phil Duncan\/Every Second Media\/ShutterstockShare<\/p>\n

So Amorim leaves Manchester United<\/strong> with a win ratio of less than 39 per cent. He had a record of 1.24 points per game in Premier League matches and lost more games than he won in 2025. It was a fairly miserable tenure.<\/p>\n

It is astonishing then that he also leaves with United arguably at their strongest point since his appointment \u2013 with those off-field issues and tensions with the hierarchy behind the departures rather than just results. United actually lost just one of Amorim\u2019s final eight games in charge and currently sit sixth in the Premier League, three points off fourth. These were his final five games in charge:<\/p>\n

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Here\u2019s the story, via Jamie Jackson. Note United\u2019s statement:<\/strong><\/p>\n

With Manchester United sitting sixth in the Premier League, the club\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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Preamble<\/h2>\n

Good grief, Ruben Amorim has gone. It seems the combination of poor results, plus an increasingly strained relationship with the Manchester United hierarchy \u2013 most notably Jason Wilcox, the director of football, has brought about Amorim\u2019s demise after 14 fairly miserable months as manager.<\/p>\n

Those comments after United\u2019s 1-1 draw at Leeds yesterday (Sunday) proved Amorim\u2019s final undoing, with the Portuguese telling his colleagues in United\u2019s recruitment department to \u201cdo their job\u201d. United were unwilling to grant Amorim major funds to bolster their squad in this January window. On Friday Amorim had said: \u201cI have the feeling that if we have to play a perfect 3-4-3 we need to spend a lot of money and need time. I\u2019m starting to understand that is not going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

We will bring you all the fallout from this huge breaking news, go through where it went wrong for Amorim (how long have you got?!) and turn our attention to what comes next for Manchester United. Never a dull day, eh \u2026<\/p>\n

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Key events Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature This is an interesting take from United fan Huw Moxon: We\u2019ve let our standards slip as a club if we think what we\u2019ve seen under Amorim is acceptable. Sure, there was need for a reset and some shifting of expectations but<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40346,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[13785,132,1570,13784,7716,3677,127],"class_list":{"0":"post-40345","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-amorim","9":"tag-live","10":"tag-manchester","11":"tag-ruben","12":"tag-sacked","13":"tag-united","14":"tag-updates"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40345","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=40345"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40345\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/40346"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=40345"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=40345"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=40345"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}