Ruben Amorim has left many memorable things at Manchester United such as the 3-center-back formation, ignoring the media and then making somewhat self-deprecating statements and criticizing the club's board of directors. Unlike many new coaches of English football, the 40-year-old coach really... likes to answer the media and many of them have shown incomprehensibility, sometimes difficulty approaching.
Talented coaches sometimes know how to... avoid difficult questions or answer in the style of "playing drums" to make the media fall into the trap of fire blindness in terms of information. However, in 14 months of working at Man United, Amorim has never avoided questions like that and chose to answer very frankly. It feels like Amorim is the coach who is most easily exploited by the British media.
In January 2025, when Man United only won 2/10 of their first matches under Amorim and are ranked 13th in the league table, the Portuguese coach said: "Imagine how much this will mean to a fan of Manchester United and how much it will mean to me. The team has a new coach, who is in a series of defeats and has many predecessors (Erik ten Hag). I understand that, perhaps Man United is the worst version in club history right now.
In the same month, Amorim admitted that the team was not progressing under his leadership and said "it's shameful to be a Manchester United coach but lose so many matches".
A month earlier, he said that Man United is struggling to stay in the league: "This is one of the most difficult times in club history and we have to face it in the most frank way.
Further, in May 2025 when Man United lost the Europa League final, when they did not know the future and the leadership's views, Amorim immediately rejected the bosses: "If the leadership and fans feel I am not the right person, I will leave the next day and do not need any negotiations on compensation.
In August, after the shameless defeat to the fourth-place team in the League Cup, Grimsby Town, Amorim said: "If we don't perform well, anyone can feel the need for change. You know, the team won't be able to change 22 players at the same time." A few days later, Amorim continued to say: "To be honest, whenever Man United loses in such a scenario, I still maintain this position. Sometimes I will say that I hate my players, sometimes I love them. Sometimes I want to resign, sometimes I want to stay here for another 20 years".
From some perspective, such frankness is commendable, it shows people what Amorim is really thinking in his head. However, the sometimes... thoughtless frankness of the Portuguese coach has offended many people, including Man United's bosses.
Amorim once shared that he chose to be so frank to avoid being misunderstood to another point. Remember when he first came to Man United, after only 2 matches, Amorim once said he had to answer more interviews than he had in a season in Portugal with Sporting Lisbon. Therefore, this young strategist chose to speak frankly and truthfully about what he was thinking to avoid having to write many scripts in his head to deal with the British media.
From a certain perspective, this is a very bad idea because that frankness is not always accepted and it is not certain that what Amorim thinks is true. The words that touched the self-esteem of many people gradually pushed him out of Old Trafford and now that has become a reality.
There will be people who regret Amorim for never having enough things they wanted in hand. Conversely, there are also many people who feel satisfied because in the end, the main factor that caused Man United to plummet after Ten Hag's crisis also had to take his seat.
However, the saddest thing is that Man United fell into an endless vicious circle. Who is the newcomer and can he do anything is a question that cannot be answered.
