Ruben Amorim has the opportunity to turn around Manchester United’s disappointing season by securing victory against Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League final on Wednesday night.
However, regardless of the result, a decision regarding his future has already been made.
Previously managing Sporting CP, Amorim took over from Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford in November, despite originally wanting to wait until the end of the 2024/25 campaign. ..Continue Reading
He eventually made the move from Portugal, but his tenure has been far from smooth.
Under his leadership, United have failed to win consecutive Premier League matches and currently sit in 16th place with 39 points—just 14 ahead of 18th-placed, already relegated Leicester City.
United’s form under the 40-year-old has been disastrous, and although he hasn’t had the benefit of a full summer transfer window to shape the squad to his liking, calls for his dismissal have grown louder.
However, The Mirror reports that Amorim, recognized as one of football’s brightest young managerial talents, will not be fired even if United lose the Europa League final to Spurs.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the club’s co-owner, along with his INEOS-backed management team, sees it as unreasonable to blame Amorim for United’s worst top-flight finish in five decades by cutting his time at the club short.
Instead, they are ready to back him for another season, giving him the time to properly implement his vision after stepping in midway through the 2024/25 campaign. Financial support will also be provided to secure his preferred transfer targets.
Despite this backing, there have been doubts about his suitability for the role, particularly after he openly admitted that the challenge might be greater than he anticipated.
Recently, Amorim acknowledged that the club cannot afford a repeat of this season’s struggles.
“It’s a decisive moment in the history of the club. We need to be really strong in the summer and to be brave, because we will not have a next season like this. If we start like this, if the feeling is still here, we should give space to different people.”
Amorim has since retreated from the idea that he might be made the scapegoat, a view reinforced by Ratcliffe’s reluctance to disrupt the club’s stability so soon into his tenure at Old Trafford—an upheaval that would risk sending the 20-time English champions back to square one.
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