The inside story of why Man United sacked Ruben Amorim - ESPN

There were doubts about Ruben Amorim from the start.

Shortly after assuming control of Manchester United in February 2024, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, minority owner and in charge of the club's football operations, gathered his executives for a meeting and said the team's style of play «will be determined in this room.» It was curious, then, for some of those present to learn that when Erik ten Hag was sacked in November, the man Ratcliffe wanted to replace him — Sporting CP boss Amorim — had a specific coaching philosophy and no history of compromise.

Ratcliffe was told at the time that hiring Amorim was a risk; he was warned that reshaping the squad to fit a 3-4-3 system — Amorim's preference after having success with it at Sporting — would take millions that the club didn't have.

— Ogden: Man United must hire a superstar manager post-Amorim
— Every time Amorim talked about his job status at Man United
— Amorim sacked as Man United manager after 14 months

There was also concern that the academy teams would have to play the same way. The coaching staff Amorim wanted to bring with him from Portugal was «too young and too inexperienced,» according to United staff members with contacts at clubs that also looked at Amorim.

Still, Ratcliffe pushed ahead. Ultimately, it didn't work out and on Monday, Amorim was sacked after 14 months and just 24 wins in 63 games. His win percentage of 31.9% is significantly below that of any other permanent manager since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement in 2013.

CEO Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox delivered the news to Amorim in person early on Monday morning at Carrington. The ensuing announcement came less than 24 hours after Amorim's stunning news conference rant following the