Ruben Amorim was dismissed by the Manchester United hierarchy in January following a draw against Leeds United at Elland Road.

Jason Wilcox and Omar Berrada backed Amorim through a turbulent 14 months in charge at Old Trafford, but decided to part ways with the Portuguese manager after he reportedly had a falling out with Wilcox over tactics.

Amorim took over at United in November following the sacking of Erik ten Hag. The former Sporting manager led United to a Europa League final in his first season, but United fell to a 1-0 defeat against Premier League counterparts Tottenham Hotspur. United finished 15th that season, and poor results continued into the 2025/26 season, the most embarrassing of all being the Carabao Cup second-round exit against Grimsby Town.

Amorim left United with a 40% win rate and an average of 1.4 points per game. He is now the manager of AC Milan, where he has been since June.

Amorim reveals the pressure of managing United

Speaking to DAZN, in quotes published by Milan News, Amorim spoke about the pressure that comes with managing a club as big as United.

"The experience we’ve gained at other clubs helps us with every challenge, or a new challenge. Here, it’s more like Portugal," Amorim said.

"It’s a different kind of pressure, because people outside the club experience the team with such passion. This is similar to Portugal, and I’m used to living like that.

"In England, it’s a little different, obviously. Manchester United is a global club just like Milan, so every single thing you do matters, and that’s helped me try to perform at my best here with Milan.

"In my mind, everything I’ve experienced in my career has served to reach this point, at this very special club, to be ready to help it."

"I know that all the experience I’ve gained in the past will help me in both the good and the bad times with this team."

United should have sacked Amorim earlier

One of the most remarkable aspects of Ruben Amorim’s tenure at Old Trafford was the fact that he kept his job for as long as he did, despite the fact that it was quite clear early on that the project was headed nowhere.

In the first few games of his tenure, United did actually play fairly good football, and there was a real emphasis on dominating possession. United, however, suffered a 0-3 defeat to AFC Bournemouth, and after that, Amorim changed his principles drastically. Instead of keeping the ball like Amorim wanted to at the start, United adopted a far more direct approach. 

After the defeat to Spurs in the Europa League final, United should have, at that point, parted ways with Amorim. While he did take over in a difficult moment, leading the club to a 15th-place finish was nothing short of unacceptable.

The loss to Grimsby Town was another, and perhaps the clearest, signal that it was not going to work out for Amorim. Despite that, Berrada and Wilcox kept him in a job for longer than four months following that game.

No one expected any head coach to take over from Ten Hag and solve all the issues at the club within a year, but there had to be signs of progress along the way, and under Amorim's leadership, United were only ever headed backwards.