Manchester United’s Ruben Amorim is once again showing signs of discontent at the club, declaring on Sunday that he intends to stay in the job until his contract expires – though he may “move on” after the fact.
Amorim’s comments came after a 1-1 draw at Leeds United, the hosts striking first courtesy of Brenden Aaronson in the 62nd minute before Matheus Cunha notched an equalizer three minutes later. It was a somewhat evenly contested match and leaves United in fifth place on the Premier League table, still well within touching distance of a UEFA Champions League spot, though the Red Devils now have just one win in their last five matches.
That run of form has added another hurdle in a bumpy tenure at United for Amorim, who took the helm in November 2024, though his comments on Sunday suggested the disconnect between him and the club’s higher-ups may be down to more than just results.
“I came here to be the manager of Manchester United, not to be the coach of Manchester United, and that is clear,” Amorim said. “I know that my name is not [Thomas] Tuchel, it’s not [Antonio] Conte, it’s not [Jose] Mourinho, but I’m the manager of Manchester United, and it’s going to be like this for 18 months or when the board decides to change, so that was my point. I want to finish with that. I’m not going to quit. I will do my job until [an]other guy is coming here to replace me.”
Amorim also suggested that all parties involved might be willing to end things when his contract expires, even as criticism mounts amidst a poor run of form.
“I just want to say I’m going to be the manager of this team, not just the coach, and I was really clear on that, and that is going to finish in 18 months, and then, everyone is going to move on,” Amorim continued. “That was the deal. That is my job – not to be a coach. If people handle the [Sky Sports broadcaster] Gary Nevilles and the criticisms of everything, we need to change the club … I just want to say that I came here to be the manager of Manchester United, not to be the coach and every department – the scouting department, the [sporting] director needs to do their job. I will do mine for 18 months, and then we move on.”
Amorim has made his dissatisfaction with United’s power players clear over the last several weeks, including through comments on Christmas Eve that the club needs to put in “time and money” to make his preferred 3-4-3 system work. He admitted, though, on Friday in a pre-match press conference that there are “no conversations” about bringing in players during the January transfer window and that questions on that front should be directed towards United’s director of football Jason Wilcox.
The manager’s contract expires at the end of the 2026-27 season and includes an option to extend the deal by another year.
