There's an old saying in football: be careful what you wish for. Manchester United desperately wanted Ruben Amorim. They paid £8.3 million just to get him out of Sporting. Now, after 14 months of chaos, broken TVs, and a press conference that felt more like a resignation letter, he's gone.
And honestly? The only surprise is that it took this long.
The boy from Alverca who dared to dream
Before he became the man United fans wanted gone, Amorim was something else entirely. Born in Lisbon on 27 January 1985, his early years weren't exactly paved with gold. His parents divorced when he was 13. He spent his teenage years bouncing between his mother's home in Corroios and his father Virgílio's place in Alverca, where the old man ran a key-cutting shop called O Rei das Chaves.
Football was the escape. He joined Benfica's academy as a kid, got released, and apparently cried his eyes out. But here's the thing about Amorim – the man doesn't quit. He turned up for a trial at Belenenses with a broken arm. A broken arm! That kind of stubbornness would serve him well later. And haunt him at United.
His playing career was decent enough. Three league titles with Benfica, 14 caps for Portugal, two World Cups. Nothing spectacular, but solid. A series of knee injuries ended it all at 32. Most blokes would've taken the money and disappeared to the golf course. Amorim went back to school.
The making of a managerial prodigy
What happened next borders on the ridiculous. After a brief stint at third-division Casa Pia – where he promised to resign if he lost another match after two opening defeats – and a controversial ban lifted over coaching qualifications, Amorim landed at Braga's reserve team in September 2019.
By December, he was managing the first team. By January, he'd won the Taça da Liga. In 33 days.
Sporting came calling in March 2020, paying €10 million for his services – making him the third most expensive manager transfer in football history at the time. The fee raised eyebrows. His results shut everybody up.
In his first full season, Sporting won the league. Their first title in 19 years. Nineteen. You can't overstate what that meant in Lisbon. The celebrations went on for days. Amorim became something close to a god.
By November 2024, when he finally left for United, his CV at the José Alvalade read: two Primeira Liga titles, three Taças da Liga, one Supertaça. He'd qualified the club for the Champions League knockout stages for only the second time in their history. His final run of form? Sixteen wins and a draw in 17 matches, including a 4-1 demolition of Manchester City.
No wonder United came knocking. The question is whether anyone at Old Trafford actually watched how he won those games.
The stubborn 3-4-3 that ruined everything
Amorim's entire philosophy hinges on a back-three system. At Sporting, it worked beautifully. The right players, the right mentality, a squad built specifically for his ideas. United had none of that.
And yet he refused to adapt. In September 2025, he told reporters that "not even the Pope" could change his approach. It was a great soundbite. Terrible management.
United's players looked lost. The wing-backs couldn't defend. The forwards didn't press. The midfield leaked goals like a broken pipe. By January 2025, after a humiliating 3-1 home defeat to Brighton, Amorim delivered the quote that will define his time in Manchester.
"We are the worst team maybe in the history of Manchester United," he said. "I know you want headlines, but I'm saying that because we have to acknowledge that and to change that. Here you go: your headlines."
He reportedly smashed a television in the dressing room after that match. Understandable, really. Less understandable was his insistence that the system would eventually work if everyone just trusted him.
There were glimpses. A first win at Anfield since 2016 in October 2025 – United won 2-1 with Harry Maguire scoring the winner. He picked up Manager of the Month after wins against Brighton, Sunderland, and Liverpool. But the highs were swamped by the lows.
A Europa League final lost to Tottenham in Bilbao. A 15th-place league finish. Getting knocked out of the EFL Cup by Grimsby Town – a League Two side – after losing 12-11 on penalties. Grimsby. Twelve-eleven.
The final straw
By January 2026, the cracks had become canyons. Reports emerged that director of recruitment Christopher Vivell had criticised Amorim's tactical rigidity in an internal WhatsApp group. The manager's response? A press conference that veered from defiant to bizarre.
"I know that my name is not Tuchel, it's not Conte, it's not Mourinho, but I'm the manager of Manchester United," Amorim declared after Sunday's 1-1 draw at Leeds. "And it's going to be like this for 18 months or when the board decides to change."
Twenty-four hours later, the board decided to change.
Fourteen months. Forty-seven league matches. Fifteen wins, 13 draws, 19 defeats. A 32% win rate – the worst of any permanent United manager in Premier League history. More goals conceded per game (1.53) than any predecessor. Stats that make David Moyes look like Sir Alex Ferguson.
What went wrong?
The easy answer is that United's squad simply wasn't good enough for Amorim's system. There's truth in that. But plenty of managers have adapted their tactics to fit their players. Amorim wouldn't budge.
Bruno Fernandes, his compatriot and captain, publicly backed his methods in 2023: "He is well-prepared because it is not easy to win titles at Sporting. Sporting was 20 years without winning trophies. Mr. Amorim came and won two."
But winning in Portugal is not the same as winning in England. Rio Ferdinand spoke to Nani about Amorim before his appointment. "The players play for him, they love him and respect him," Nani reportedly said. United's players clearly felt differently.
Then there's the personality. Amorim is brutally honest – too honest for a club drowning in its own dysfunction. His willingness to publicly slate his own team, while perhaps accurate, didn't exactly inspire confidence. His criticism of young players like Harry Amass – claiming the teenager was "struggling" at Sheffield Wednesday when he was actually their Player of the Month – showed a troubling disconnect.
Where does he go from here?
Amorim is 40. His wife Maria João Diogo, an interior designer whose brother Antero Henrique once ran PSG's transfer department, uprooted the family from Lisbon to Cheshire. By all accounts, she struggled with the weather. Now they'll be packing up again.
He'll get another job. His work at Sporting was genuinely outstanding, and clubs have short memories. Perhaps a return to Portugal, or a project in Italy or Germany where he can build from scratch. The Premier League, though? That might have to wait.
Darren Fletcher takes charge against Burnley on Wednesday. United will muddle through until summer, then appoint someone else. The seventh permanent manager since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.
Amorim arrived promising revolution. He leaves having delivered chaos. In the end, not even he could claim otherwise.
"We have to acknowledge that and change that," he said in January 2025.
United have acknowledged it. The change? Showing him the door.
