Why Man United dismissed Amorim: Fundamental strategies, player concerns, transfer dissatisfaction

There were doubts about Ruben Amorim from the start.

Shortly after assuming control of Manchester United in February 2024, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, minority owner and in charge of the club’s football operations, gathered his executives for a meeting and said the team’s style of play «will be determined in this room.» It was curious, then, for some of those present to learn that when Erik ten Hag was sacked in November, the man Ratcliffe wanted to replace him — Sporting CP boss Amorim — had a specific coaching philosophy and no history of compromise.

Ratcliffe was told at the time that hiring Amorim was a risk; he was warned that reshaping the squad to fit a 3-4-3 system — Amorim’s preference after having success with it at Sporting — would take millions that the club didn’t have.

– Ogden: Man United must hire a superstar manager post-Amorim
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– Amorim sacked as Man United manager after 14 months

There was also concern that the academy teams would have to play the same way. The coaching staff Amorim wanted to bring with him from Portugal was «too young and too inexperienced,» according to United staff members with contacts at clubs that also looked at Amorim.

Still, Ratcliffe pushed ahead. Ultimately, it didn’t work out and on Monday, Amorim was sacked after 14 months and just 24 wins in 63 games. His win percentage of 31.9% is significantly below that of any other permanent manager since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013.

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How things broke down between Amorim, Man United

CEO Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox delivered the news to Amorim in person early on Monday morning at Carrington. The ensuing announcement came less than 24 hours after Amorim’s stunning news conference rant following the 1-1 draw with Leeds United on Sunday, during which he demanded to be seen as «manager, not the coach» and told club bosses — implying Wilcox, among others — to «do your jobs.»

From the moment Amorim took public aim at his employers, the writing was on the wall.

On Monday, United sources insisted the decision was not taken solely because of a breakdown in Amorim’s relationships with club bosses — particularly Wilcox — but rather because there had not been «enough signs of evolution or progress» on the pitch. Amorim won just 15 of his 47 Premier League games, but it’s hard to forget the timing of his dismissal coming so soon after his remarks in the Elland Road media theatre.

Those early doubts about Amorim played a part in Dan Ashworth leaving as director of football in December 2024. Ashworth was keen to appoint a coach with Premier League experience, but he lost the fight and would lose his job a month later.

It wasn’t lost on some former United staff that in the summer, the club spent around £130 million to sign players with Premier League experience — Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha — but hadn’t applied the same logic when picking its head coach. But there were reservations about Amorim outside the boardroom.

United’s players were optimistic when he was appointed. Many had grown tired of Ten Hag’s strict, sometimes awkward, personality and were ready for a change. Though Amorim’s reputation as a charismatic communicator was apparent right away, his immediate impact in other areas was underwhelming.

Some players described his training methods as «basic.» There was an emphasis on tactical walk-throughs on the indoor pitch in the academy building as Amorim tried desperately to get his players to understand his 3-4-3 system.

Players not involved in the sessions were often asked to stand on the sidelines and watch. Sometimes, during sessions, Amorim would get so frustrated that he would physically drag players across the pitch until they were in what he considered to be the «right» positions.

Eventually, his stubbornness with United’s formation became an issue. According to United sources, he indicated a willingness early on to adapt and evolve his system and style, but never seemed to follow through. It was not an ideological battle between playing a back three and a back four, sources told ESPN, it was about sending his team to dominate games and be more attack-minded, as opposed to what was viewed internally as a sometimes overly conservative approach.

In an explosive meeting with Wilcox on Friday — arranged as a debrief after a 1-1 draw with Wolves on Dec. 30 — Amorim was encouraged to be more proactive with how he set up his players. United played well in the first half against Newcastle on Boxing Day with a back four, and eventually won 1-0. But against Wolves four days later, Amorim reverted to a back three so he could match up with Rob Edwards’ side, despite the visitors arriving at Old Trafford with just two points from 18 games.

Wilcox questioned the decision, and Amorim took the feedback badly. According to sources, Wilcox delivered the message in a calm and measured way, but was met with what has been described to ESPN as an «overly emotional» response. Sources with knowledge of the meeting said Amorim «blew up,» which followed a pattern in recent weeks of what sources characterize as Amorim’s increasing refusal to engage with bosses about tactics and team setup that were designed to be constructive.

Amorim, meanwhile, viewed the questions interfered with his area of responsibility and, according to sources close to the manager, he believed the pressure to change his system was influenced by continued criticism from former players in the media, including Gary Neville and Paul Scholes. It was noteworthy that during his pointed postmatch comments at Leeds, Amorim said: «If people cannot handle the Gary Nevilles and the criticisms of everything, we need to change the club.»

United’s tactics against Wolves backed a growing feeling within the club that Amorim and his staff had come to fear the Premier League, and that he was more concerned with containing even the worst teams rather than trying to attack. Though these feelings have existed since the end of last season, that 1-1 draw against the Premier League’s worst side was enough for several United staff members to lose faith that Amorim was the right man.

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Issues with players and how Man United play

There were times during his tenure when Amorim had doubts. He had to be talked into staying in January 2025 after a particularly bad run of form, according to sources in and around the club. After a game last February, Amorim revealed to one source that he knew United wouldn’t win just by watching how his players tied their laces before the warmup.

In the same conversation, Amorim confided his fear that the club was «broken» and that he didn’t know how to fix it because the players he had inherited were «fragile.» In particular, he was shocked at what he saw as a lack of physicality within the squad and on numerous occasions, Amorim became irate because players were losing one-on-one duels too often.

Though Ten Hag’s training involved lots of running, Amorim asked his players to spend more time in the gym, especially during the summer tour of the United States.

There were issues off the pitch, too.

Amorim was hired, in part, because of his reputation for being a good communicator — something Ten Hag lacked — but he repeatedly ran into trouble. His comments after a defeat to Brighton in January 2025 that the team was «maybe the worst» in the club’s 147-year history weren’t well received in the dressing room, according to sources close to the squad. The United hierarchy was further alarmed, a club source told ESPN, when Amorim aimed digs at striker Benjamin Sesko and defender Patrick Dorgu earlier this season, and was also unimpressed with his criticism of the academy.

Amorim was told in the summer to be more guarded with his public comments. However, he insisted that if he had to do interviews, he would use them to send public messages to players in the hope it would elicit a positive response.

This strategy backfired last season, when one senior player was criticized for a lack of intensity in games and found out when he read the quotes on his phone. The coaching staff said it was the type of critique that should have been done face-to-face.

Then, in another television interview last season, Amorim was so outspoken about a player that the club felt it was better to ask the broadcaster to remove the comments before they were aired. The broadcaster agreed.

Amorim was brought in to connect with the players, having been a player at Benfica and Braga, but he was much more distant with the squad than expected. He compartmentalized everything and wouldn’t get involved in areas that he didn’t believe were his concern, often leaving coaches and staff to handle their duties without interference. It was a departure from Ten Hag’s style, with the Dutchman always keen to know everything, including travel plans for games and players’ media commitments.

In the summer, Amorim said he created a six-man leadership group of Bruno Fernandes, Lisandro Martínez, Diogo Dalot, Harry Maguire, Noussair Mazraoui and Tom Heaton because: «There are some things that in the last year I had to deal with.» The inference was that he wanted the dressing room to police itself, though there were moments when he played a nurturing role.

After young defender Leny Yoro was visibly upset following a mistake against Crystal Palace in November, Amorim made time in the days after the game to take the France international to one side and show him a video that contained only the things he had done well at Selhurst Park.

Amorim tried to connect the players better with the fans by changing the pre-match routine at Old Trafford so the team arrived when a crowd of supporters would be gathered at the entrance; players were also told they had to stop for pictures and autographs either before or after games.

Amorim would usually spend nearly an hour with fans after games — regardless of the time or weather — but his disappointment showed after the draw against Wolves, when he went straight to his car with his family.

As well as trying to build a relationship with fans, Amorim also went out of his way to build a team spirit he felt was lacking when he arrived. Players returning to training after injury or celebrating appearance milestones were welcomed with head slaps before each session. He ordered small, circular tables to be swapped for two long tables, to avoid cliques forming at mealtimes, and there was a «family day» organized at Carrington after the damaging Carabao Cup defeat to League Two side Grimsby Town in August.

Amorim was annoyed, per a source familiar with the situation, when some players didn’t attend a BBQ organized after the Europa League final defeat to Tottenham at a time he felt they needed to stick together. To him, team bonding was important — players were asked to stay behind after training for birthdays, each one celebrated with a personalized cake and a speech.

To Amorim, speaking in front of each other was seen as a vital tool for the growth of what he considered to be a young group. Had he got his way, however, he would have worked with more senior pros instead of what he felt was such a developmental squad.

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Frustrations over recruitment

Issues over recruitment were evident from Amorim’s first day in the job. He was given the title of «head coach,» rather than «manager,» to reflect his place in the new structure put together by Ratcliffe and his team. But speaking at his first news conference, Amorim insisted more than once that he must «choose the players.» It went directly against what club bosses were saying behind the scenes.

Club sources told ESPN that they believe Amorim was «fully aligned» with the plan in the summer to bring in three attackers to cure a chronic lack of goals, rather than use some of the money to sign a central midfielder. The issue, though, was signing 22-year-old Sesko for €85 million over 30-year-old Watkins: Amorim wanted a proven Premier League goal scorer, while the club favored signing a young player who could be developed.

There was a similar debate about goalkeepers. United eventually signed 23-year-old Senne Lammens over Aston Villa’s 33-year-old Emi Martinez. Shortly after the summer 2025 window, Amorim said his squad didn’t have enough «crazy guys» — viewed internally as a dig at the board for passing on Martinez.

On Amorim’s side, there was frustration that the club seemed unwilling to be flexible with its long-term plan, especially when the team was asking him to be flexible with his tactics.

For example, money was available to sign Antoine Semenyo for his £65 million release clause in January, but when the Bournemouth winger preferred a move to Manchester City, Amorim was told that those funds wouldn’t necessarily be used elsewhere. It was a blow to Amorim, who was without eight first-team players against Wolves and Leeds because of injuries and international call-ups.

(One look at United’s bench vs. Leeds told the same story, with several academy players named among the substitutes, despite not yet making meaningful first-team appearances.)

After his volatile meeting with Wilcox on Friday, Amorim held a tense news conference and told reporters there were «no conversations» ongoing about January transfers. After leaving the media room, he cancelled a scheduled broadcast interview, citing «personal reasons,» and left the training ground. Defender Lisandro Martínez took his place.

Two days later, Amorim took aim at his own club. It’s likely that he knew then that they would be his last words as United manager.

His first words on the job, in November 2024, were more upbeat. After emerging from a Mercedes van at United’s training ground on a sunny Manchester day, he greeted Berrada, Wilcox and Ashworth with a big smile, and he pointed to the sky. «You see the weather,» he said jokingly as he hugged and shook hands with his new colleagues.

It was cold and icy on his drive into Carrington on Monday. At Leeds, the excitement on his face was gone, and the infectious enthusiasm of those early days was a distant memory. The pressure of the job lifted after his early-morning meeting with Berrada and Wilcox; Amorim was smiling again as he took a walk with his wife from their Cheshire home on Monday afternoon.

Ratcliffe, Berrada and Wilcox now face the task of finding a coach who can put smiles back on the faces of United fans. After all, the latest coach asked to take the club back to the top has tried and failed.