Ruben Amorim was Friday named as the new manager of Manchester United, replacing the sacked Erik ten Hag.
Ruben Amorim was Friday named as the new manager of Manchester United, replacing the sacked Erik ten Hag.
The 39-year-old Portuguese coach, who won two Primeira Liga titles with Sporting Lisbon, has signed a deal until 2027 and will join the club on November 11, 2024.
“Manchester United is delighted to announce the appointment of Ruben Amorim as head coach of the men’s first team, subject to work visa requirements.
“He will join until June 2027 with a club option of an additional year, once he has fulfilled his obligations to his current club,” the club said on its website.
United described Amorim as “one of the most exciting and highly rated young coaches in European football.” “Highly decorated as both a player and coach, his titles include winning the Primeira Liga twice in Portugal with Sporting CP — the first of which was the club’s first title in 19 years,” the club statement said.
Ruud van Nistelrooy will continue to take charge of the team until Amorim arrives at Old Trafford during the November international break.
His first game in charge will be away at struggling Ipswich on November 24. United sacked Ten Hag on Monday after a 2-1 defeat by West Ham left them languishing 14th in the Premier League, with just three wins from nine matches.
Amorim quickly emerged as the club’s top target and Sporting issued a statement to the Lisbon stock exchange earlier this week confirming United were willing to meet his release clause of 10 million euros ($11 million).
Amorim was peppered with questions about his prospective switch at his press conference ahead of Sporting’s home league game against Estrela on Friday but he remained tight-lipped.
“It is a negotiation between two clubs. It’s never easy. Even with the clauses it’s never easy, they have to talk,” he said on Thursday. Before Wednesday’s 5-2 win against Leicester in the fourth round of the League Cup, United had won just one of their past eight games in all competitions.
Ten Hag won the League Cup and FA Cup during his spell at Old Trafford but the club have not won the Premier League since 2013, in Alex Ferguson’s last season in charge.
Ferguson won the Premier League title 13 times but since his departure, five permanent managers have come and gone without adding to the club’s 20 top-flight titles.
Van Nistelrooy said Thursday he was “motivated” to help turn United’s season around and wants to stay at the club as he prepares the players for a high-profile match against Chelsea on Sunday.
Asked if it is his expectation that he will remain as an assistant under the new United boss, Van Nistelrooy, a former PSV Eindhoven manager, said, “We will see but it’s a contract situation that I’m in, and my desire to help the club go forward. “So I can speak to you about my side of this story, and after that, when the new situation is occurring, when the new manager is signing and conversations take place, we have to see how things develop.”
He will join until June 2027 with a club option of an additional year once he has fulfilled his obligations to his current club.
He will join Manchester United on Monday 11 November. “Rúben is one of the most exciting and highly rated young coaches in European football.
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Highly decorated as both a player and coach, his titles include winning the Primeira Liga twice in Portugal with Sporting CP; the first of which was the club’s first title in 19 years. Ruud van Nistelrooy will continue to take charge of the team until Rúben joins.”
Amorim is the sixth permanent United manager since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013 and will try to lead United to their first Premier League title since Ferguson’s final season.
Ten Hag was sacked after overseeing United’s worst start to a Premier League campaign and Amorim will be tasked with moving the team toward the European qualification places. Amorim guided Sporting to their first league title in 19 years during his first full season in charge in 2020/21.
After finishing second and fourth in the league in the next two campaigns, Amorim delivered another league title in 2023/24, with Sporting winning the title by 10 points.
The young coach held talks with West Ham over succeeding David Moyes at the London Stadium earlier in the year but Julen Lopetegui was appointed.
Amorim said it was a ‘mistake’ to hold talks with West Ham and added it was ‘disrespectful’ to speak to another club.
Amorim began his managerial career with third-division Portuguese side Casa Pia. He subsequently took charge of Braga’s reserve side before being appointed as their first-team manager and he took over at Sporting in March 2020 with the club struggling and lacking an identity.
During Amorim’s career as a player, he made over 300 appearances, playing for Belenenses, Benfica and Braga, and he was capped by Portugal’s national team 14 times.
