Ruben Amorim sacked by Manchester United after 14 months in charge, Darren Fletcher given interim job

After his final game at Elland Road, Amorim leaves with a Premier League win percentage of 31.9%.

SACKED: Ruben Amorim has been dismissed as manager of Manchester United, the club has confirmed in a short statement on Monday. Pic: Molly Darlington/Getty Images

Manchester United have sacked Ruben Amorim with immediate effect.

The club said in a statement Monday that the Portuguese, who took charge in November 2024, had left the role, with the club's leadership having "reluctantly made the decision that it is the right time to make a change".

The club added in the statement: "This will give the team the best opportunity of the highest possible Premier League finish."

Amorim leaves with a Premier League win percentage of 31.9%.

He was informed of the Manchester United decision early today by executives Jason Wilcox and Omar Berrada. It is expected that former midfielder and current Under-18s coach Darren Fletcher will take charge on an interim basis, starting at Burnley on Wednesday. Early indications are that he may continue in charge until the end of the season.

Amorim's comments after their 1-1 draw at Leeds would suggest a major straining in relations with the club's hierarchy.

He stressed that he considered himself the “manager” of United, not the “coach”.

“It’s going to be like this for 18 months or when the board decide to change,” Amorim said at Leeds. “That was my point, I want to finish with that. I’m not going to quit. I will do my job until another guy is coming here to replace me.”

Gary Neville said Amorim had "started to unleash" because he believes the Manchester United boss is "not happy" and frustrated with a lack of support from upstairs.

The Portuguese, who repeatedly raised the prospect of leaving when his contract expires in 2027, had alluded to frustration behind the scenes in the build-up to the match and refused to clarify his recent comments about the club's transfer plans.

United were seemingly reluctant to sanction the signings Amorim wanted because the players he had targeted for his preferred 3-4-3 may not suit the next head coach and the hierarchy lost confidence that he was the right long-term solution.

There is also an insistence that the leadership of Berrada and Wilcox is best in class and that Amorim or any other head coach cannot outrank them.

It is understood United’s stance is that Amorim was given 100% backing and was removed owing to a lack of progress and evolution. The club are intent that the approximately £250m spent since Amorim was appointed is evidence of the Portuguese’s support – the sum making United one of the highest gross spenders in the Premier League since. There is also an insistence that Amorim was in concert with the summer strategy of signing three forwards rather than a midfielder.

Amorim was appointed on November 1st, 2024 on a contract to June 2027, with a club option of an additional year. He oversaw United’s lowest Premier League finish – 15th, with 42 points – last season and lost the Europa League final. A net spend last summer of £165m, including the signings of Benjamin Sesko, Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha, has failed to spark a sustained upturn.

United endured a difficult start to this season and were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by the League Two club Grimsby. But United’s co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe backed his head coach in October, saying he should be judged after three years in charge. A relative upturn in results has moved them up to sixth in the table – albeit only four points above 14th-placed Crystal Palace – and he won only 15 of his 46 league games.

Until recently Amorim was wedded to his tactics, built around a back three, with which he brought success to Sporting in his previous job, saying “not even the pope” could make him deviate, but his approach has been widely questioned throughout his tenure.

Amorim name-checked the former United captain on Sunday, saying: "If people cannot handle the Gary Nevilles and the criticisms of everything, we need to change the club."

Neville responded to Amorim's outburst in his role as a Sky Sports pundit and drew comparisons with Enzo Maresca falling out with the Chelsea ownership, which ultimately ended with the Italian's departure from Stamford Bridge.

"Something's happened there in the last week with the quotes that are coming out that mean that Ruben Amorim is now starting to unleash a little bit, as Maresca did when he said, 'I've had the worst 48 hours (at Chelsea)'," said Neville.

"It's not quite that, but it's something similar in a way which it's not explicit what he means.

"Everyone's having to read between the lines what he means, which looks to me like he's not happy with something within the hierarchy.

"That's the sort of thing that basically is coming out of it. He's mentioned my name in there as well, apparently.

"I think that's one of the things that managers tend to do towards difficult periods. They tend to sort of have a go at pundits and I've no problem with that whatsoever.

"I've actually been quite supportive in the last few weeks of Manchester United's performances against Bournemouth, Aston Villa and Newcastle, I thought they were very good.

"But I couldn't be supportive after the game against Wolves, if that's what Ruben Amorim was referring to."

There had been talk of a January swoop for Bournemouth star Antoine Semenyo, but Neville says he is not surprised "there is no money" for further investment this month.

"Ruben Amorim obviously wants players," said Neville. "He probably wants a midfield player, another wing-back if he's going to cement that 3-4-3 system.

"It's clear he needs another wing-back who can play in those wide areas - a specialist if you like - and Manchester United do need a central midfield player of force, of power, of presence.

"They needed that in the summer, but they chose to strengthen up top. So maybe he's been told in the last week or two that he's not getting any players.

"I genuinely don't know what the situation is, but it's not going to go away. When these press conferences of this ilk start, it's never usually good."

The club are searching for their seventh full-time manager or head coach since Sir Alex Ferguson departed in 2013.

Guardian