Rúben Amorim: Man United told me move was 'now or never' - ESPN

Rúben Amorim has said he wanted to delay his move to Manchester United from Sporting CP until the end of the season but was told by the Premier League club that it was «now or never.»

Man United confirmed the appointment of Amorim as their new manager on Friday, with Sporting announcing in a statement to Portugal's financial regulator, the CMVM, that the Red Devils had paid a fee of €11 million for his transfer.

Amorim, 39, will work a notice period with Sporting before officially starting work at United on Nov. 11.

«I had three days to decide one option that radically changes my life,» Amorim told reporters after Sporting's 5-1 win against Estrela Amadora on Friday.

«The only request I made was for it [transfer] to be at the end of the season and they [United] told me that it wasn't possible; that it was now or never. I knew if I rejected it that in six months I wouldn't have it. And I knew that in six months I would know that I wouldn't be at Sporting.»

Amorim, who won two Portuguese league titles with Sporting — including their first in 19 years — since joining in 2020, said he had already made a decision to leave the club at the end of the season before United's offer.

«At the start of the season I had a conversation with the [Sporting] president and I told him that regardless of what happened this was going to be my last season at Sporting,» he said. «This situation of Man United emerged, they have paid above the release clause.»

Amorim, who was a target of Liverpooland West Ham earlier this year, said it is the right time to leave Sporting.

«I've had other offers in the past, it's not the first or second time that my release clause was going to be met,» the Portuguese said. «I've come to a stage in my life where I