Manchester United sack Amorim

Manchester United’s sporting directorate dismissed the Portuguese first team coach, Ruben Amorim, according to an official statement on Monday.

The “Red Devils” management announced that it had appointed former midfielder Darren Fletcher as the head coach on a temporary basis.

Fletcher, whose career with the club as a player lasted for two decades, has never coached at the same level.

The Scot held the same position at the youth category level, as he supervised the under-18 category last summer.

Club statement: Ruben Amorim.

– Manchester United (@ManUtd) January 5, 2026

Coach statistics

The young Portuguese coach, Ruben Amorim, did not withstand the pressure imposed on a club the size of Manchester United, which is looking to regain its glory since the departure of its legendary coach, Sir Alex Ferguson, 12 years ago.

The former coach of Sporting Lisbon came to Manchester in November 2024, and tried to impose his tactical project based on the 3-4-3 plan.

Amorim was late in finding the desired formula, which is to apply offensive football and reap positive results.

Statistics showed that Manchester United achieved only 31 percent of victories in the English Premier League during the Portuguese era, which is the worst result since Ferguson’s departure.

The club did not reach the European League final last season, and even approached the top qualifying positions for the Champions League this season. To save him from dismissal.

Ruben Amorim’s time at @ManUtd has come to an end 🔴

How his reign compares to those who came before him 📊 pic.twitter.com/i9S5O1Syu3

— Premier League (@premierleague) January 5, 2026

Disagreement with Ineos management

The British group “Ineos” acquired 50 percent of Manchester United’s shares, 25 of which were Class B shares and the same percentage were Class A shares, at the end of 2024.

The American Glazer family sold the stake to Briton Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who is known in the football community for owning Nice, France, and Lausanne, Switzerland.

Ratcliffe stipulated that he would be solely responsible for managing football operations during the negotiations, which the two brothers, Avram and Joel Glazer, eventually agreed to.

Ratcliffe formed a management team familiar with modern football affairs, led by French executive director Omar Berrada, who previously passed through Manchester City and Barcelona.

Berrada was among those who supported the idea of ​​installing Amorim as head of the first team, in consultation with football director John Willox.

Things changed over time, as disagreements surfaced, especially with leaks from the British press regarding Amorim’s powers.

The recent press conference after the Leeds United match proved the truth of this news, as Amorim spoke about being the technical director and not just the coach.

The Portuguese directly attacked his officials, as he was upset that he was not granted the necessary powers in reference to managing recruitment and future plans or those related to the academy.