The Ruben Amorim sacking has sent shock waves through the football world, especially after the 40-year-old Portuguese manager was given a contract extension at Manchester United in 2025.
United’s recent form has been indifferent, but they still have managed to stay in the sixth position in the Premier league table, thereby keeping a faint hope of qualifying for European football next season.
Manchester United drew 1-1 with Leeds United to reach 31 points from 20 matches, but Amorim had an explosive press conference thereafter. Probably, that is primarily the reason why Manchester United sacked Ruben Amorim.
Ruben Amorim Sacking Underlines Manchester United’s Long-Standing Issues
The Ruben Amorim sacking extends Manchester United’s forgettable run since the stepping down of Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013. The Red Devils have won a trophy here and there, but their performance overall has been far from satisfactory. They have stopped qualifying for the UEFA Champions League on a regular basis, while they used to be genuine contenders for the title a few decades ago.
All of it cannot be the sole responsibility of the manager, with the recruitment division also likely to share the blame. However, to be fair to United’s scouts, most of their recent signings like Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Patrick Dorgu have performed reasonably well so far.
Hence, the tactics employed by the manager are to be blamed, too. However, it can be argued whether United’s performance would have improved a great deal with a 4-3-3 formation instead of a 3-4-3.
Benjamin Sesko, a $89 million signing, has so far scored two goals in his 17 appearances for the club and with a largely dysfunctional striker like that, it is difficult for the club to be really successful.
Moreover, the absence of the African trio of Bryan Mbeumo, Amad Diallo and Noussair Mazraoui has affected them seriously, with Bruno Fernandes’ injury further worsening the situation.
Still, it cannot be overlooked that United drew with a number of lesser positions at home this season to miss out on collecting full points. That is down to the character of the players and the manager, and the lack of a genuine leader on the pitch can hardly be solved by recruiting more players.
Amorim had a 37% winning ratio as the United manager during his 14-month-long tenure, which is hardly commendable and led to the Ruben Amorim sacking.
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Who Will Replace Amorim?
Ideally, a heavyweight manager should be at the helm of a club as big as Manchester United after the Ruben Amorim sacking – someone like Zinedine Zidane, Xavi. Antonio Conte, Carlo Ancelotti or Thomas Tuchel, who have won either league titles in Europe’s top leagues, the UEFA Champions League or both, can also be brought in for a job that attracts unmatched attention and scrutiny.
There is a lot of external influence as well, with influential former players throwing their weight around by voicing opinions in the media. However, while Ancelotti and Tuchel are engaged with national teams until the next summer at least, Zidane and Conte are unlikely to be ready for the job and Xavi is wedded to a particular style of football that might not be suitable for Manchester United.
Inexperienced managers might not enjoy and should feel overawed by the demands of the job at United. United have brought in people like Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Ralf Rangnick, Erik ten Hag and Ruben Amorim during the last five years or so, mostly with undesirable results. Appointing any of the relatively inexperienced managers like Roberto De Zerbi and Oliver Glasner is hardly going to serve the purpose.
As supposedly the biggest club in the world, at least in terms of global pull and popularity, the Red Devils should only appoint the best of the best as the captain of the ship. However, for that to happen, the board and the ownership should be ready to bend a little and be somewhat flexible in their approach.
Going by their recent track record, it is not easy to imagine that the Manchester United management will do anything different this time around after the Ruben Amorim sacking. With a relatively lightweight manager in charge, the board will find it easier to exert its influence on him – a key factor in who will replace Amorim.
Main Photo
Credit: IMAGO / Mark Pain
Recording Date: 05.01.2026
