Manchester United announced this Friday (1st) the appointment of 39-year-old Portuguese coach Rúben Amorim as their new manager. He replaces Dutchman Erik ten Hag, who was dismissed last Monday (28th).
However, Amorim will only assume his new role on November 11, after the FIFA international break, as previously reported by ESPN. Until then, former striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, part of the club’s permanent staff, will continue to lead the team.
Amorim had been with Sporting CP since 2020, catching the attention of the Red Devils due to his excellent work with the “Lions.” Negotiations were swift, with United expressing their intention on Tuesday (29th) to pay the coach’s €10 million release clause (approximately $10.6 million).
After resolving all bureaucratic details, the young coach was announced by United, signing a contract until June 2027. According to Sporting, the final agreement for releasing the coach and his staff was settled at €11 million ($11.7 million), plus a benefit of €1.658 million ($1.76 million) related to the termination of credit rights registered as liabilities.
A former midfielder, Rúben Amorim had notable stints with Benfica and the Portuguese national team during his playing days. He retired in 2016 and soon began his coaching career, taking charge of Casa Pia in 2018.
His rise was meteoric: the following year, he moved to Braga B and within months took over the club’s main team. With a success rate of nearly 77% and winning the 2019/20 League Cup, he caught Sporting’s attention, who hired him to end their nearly two-decade league title drought.
The gamble paid off, with the “Lions” winning the Portuguese league and the League Cup in the 2020/21 season, Amorim’s first in charge. His streak of titles continued in the following years, with another league title, another League Cup, and a Portuguese Super Cup.
In the current season, Amorim leaves the green-and-white team with a perfect record in the Portuguese league, winning all nine of their first nine games. Now, he will manage his first club outside of Portuguese football, becoming another foreign coach to lead a team in the powerful Premier League.
