Man United manager Ruben Amorim given massive confidence boost by co-owner: 'Ruben needs three years to demonstrate…’

Manchester United manager Rube Amorim has been given a massive vote of confidence by co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who has clarified that the Portuguese tactician would need three years at Old Trafford to prove himself. Amorim joined Man United in November last year and as he gets ready to mark the completion of 12 months at the club on 11 November, there are speculations that he may soon be sacked.

After guiding the Red Devils to a 15th position finish in the English Premier League table last season, their worst finish since the 1973-74 season, when they were relegated from the top division, Man Utd are currently 10th in the table. They have already suffered three losses and have been knocked out of the League Cup by League Two side Grimsby Town.

Ratcliffe slams media, supports Amorim

The rumour mills are abuzz with speculations that the 40-year-old former Sporting CP manager could soon be sacked due to the prolonged poor form of Man United under him, but INEOS chairman Ratcliffe, who also owns 30% of United and controls the footballing decisions, has refuted all such claims. He slammed the media for demanding overnight success, and said Amorim must get three years at the club to prove himself.

“He has not had the best of seasons,” Ratcliffe told The Business podcast. “Ruben needs to demonstrate he is a great coach over three years. That’s where I would be. The press, sometimes I don’t understand. They want overnight success. They think it’s a light switch. You know, you flick a switch and it’s all going to be roses tomorrow. You can’t run a club like Manchester United on kneejerk reactions to some journalist who goes off on one every week.”

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Ratcliffe was also asked what would happen if the majority owners, the Glazers, asked him to sack Amorim. He had a direct reply: “It’s not going to happen.”

The British billionaire defended the Glazers by saying that they are passionate about Man United but have a ‘bad rap.’

“We’re local and they’re the other side of the pond,” Ratcliffe said. “That’s a long way away to try to manage a football club as big and as complex as Manchester United. We’re here with feet on the ground. They get a bad rap … but they are really nice people and they are really passionate about the club.”

Man United will be ‘most profitable football club in world’

United recently announced that they have cut down their losses from £113.2m to £33m for the year to June 2025. It has been a result of massive layoffs at the club, as over 400 people have been sacked and free lunches for staff have been removed.

While Ratcliffe got a lot of criticism for his actions, he feels the club was full of ‘mediocrity,’ and he had to take the tough decisions for the better future of Man United.

“The costs were just too high,” Ratcliffe said. “There are some fantastic people at Manchester United, but there was also a level of mediocrity and it had become bloated. I got a lot of flak for the free lunches, but no one’s ever given me a free lunch.

“The biggest correlation, like it or not, between results and any external factor, is profitability. The more cash you have got, the better squad you can build. So a lot of what we have done in the first year is spend an awful lot of time putting the club on a sustainable, healthy footing.”

Ratcliffe added that United will soon be the ‘most profitable football club in the world,’ which will lay the foundation for long-term sustainable ‘high-level’ football at the club.