Stubborn, critical, grating — but results did for Ruben Amorim

Even though Semenyo is seemingly close to choosing Manchester City over United, Amorim’s words were music to the ears of the other man on the call, Jason Wilcox.

When he joined, Amorim had told United’s director of football that he would eventually move away from the defensive three-at-the-back system and it looked as though the Portuguese would honour his word when he lined his team up in a 4-2-3-1 formation for the first time in the Boxing Day win over Newcastle United. However, a few days after the phone call with Semenyo, Amorim, 40, played three at the back in a 1-1 draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

“We reverted to type,” one source said. “It was so frustrating.”

Unhappy at United’s slow build-up play, fans urged the team to “Attack! Attack! Attack!” That proved to be the final straw for the board, who asked for an explanation through Wilcox in a meeting with Amorim. The fiery encounter that took place between the head coach and director of football last Friday ended in the Portuguese being shown the door three days later.

There were some good times. Amad Diallo and Bruno Fernandes improved under the former Portugal midfielder, as did Matthijs de Ligt — and there were morale-boosting wins over Lyon, Athletic Bilbao, Liverpool and City too.

Amorim’s lack of flexibility will not have come as a surprise to watchers of his Sporting Lisbon team, who, although successful in winning two league titles, also stuck rigidly to the 3-4-2-1 system. “He has got such a strong belief in himself. Sometimes that backfires because he is too stubborn to revert to a plan B or C,” the agent of one former Sporting player said when Amorim joined United on November 24, 2024.

Some dissenting voices did not expect him to last this long. The candid comments that Amorim made in some of his post-match press conferences, particularly the one that came a year ago when he said he was in charge of “the worst team in the history of Manchester United”, went down so badly in the dressing room that one player representative started calling him “Ruben Interim”.

Last season, he famously said that he would rather play his 63-year-old goalkeeper coach Jorge Vital than Marcus Rashford, who had fallen out with Amorim due to a supposed lack of application.

Amorim vowed at the start of this season to censor himself in front of the cameras, but he failed, famously claiming in November that he could “feel the anxiety” whenever Patrick Dorgu touched the ball.

Initially, staff attributed Amorim’s public persona to his passionate personality, but by the end of his time at the club, his constant criticism of players and academy youngsters began to grate on his superiors.

That said, Amorim was never really under any pressure until a few weeks ago. As recently as the middle of November, the board were said to be “100 per cent satisfied” with him. He had, in effect, been given a pass for the 15th-placed finish in his first season because he had prioritised the Europa League over the Premier League and he had joined the club halfway through its most turbulent spell in recent years, with job cuts, a training ground revamp and a restructuring all contributing to a state of uncertainty.

Last summer, United moved into their new £50million building at the training ground — complete with quotes from Roger Federer and Usain Bolt on the walls — and after a relatively successful summer recruitment drive, there was a feeling of optimism.

By that point, Amorim and his family were enjoying life in Alderley Edge, too. He and his wife, Maria João Diogo, enjoyed walks in the nearby village of Hale. The restaurant Juniper is one of their favourite haunts for coffee.

Amorim would meet Sir Jim Ratcliffe three or four times a year at Carrington, but the United co-owner would message the Portuguese more often on WhatsApp after a positive result.

Wilcox would speak with Amorim daily, and if what the club are saying is to be believed, the United head coach agreed that three forwards — Matheus Cunha, Benjamin Sesko and Bryan Mbeumo — should be recruited before a midfielder.

The cracks between Amorim and the board started to appear six weeks ago, when United began a run of three wins in nine matches, even though none of their opponents were top drawer.

The board felt that United should have beaten Everton, West Ham United, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Leeds United and Bournemouth. If they had done so, they would be level with City and Aston Villa.

Amorim’s press conference outburst on Friday, which came shortly after his heated meeting with Wilcox, did not help his standing, nor did his post-match comments at Elland Road, where he accused Wilcox of interfering with his job, but the club said it was ultimately results that sealed Amorim’s fate.

Amorim was a delegator, which in turn meant that he did not develop close relationships with most of the players — captain Fernandes was an exception — but most felt loyal to him and they were surprised to hear of his dismissal on Monday.

As they settled down to training with the Under-18 manager Darren Fletcher, who was placed in temporary charge, Amorim looked like the weight of the world had been removed from his shoulders as he went for a walk with his wife.