Why was Ruben Amorim suddenly removed as Manchester United manager? Report reveals potential reason

Ruben Amorim’s reign as Manchester United manager came to a screeching halt on Monday with the 40-year-old getting sacked from the role after just 14 months in charge. Amorim had been retained as United manager despite the club finishing 15th at the end of the previous season, their lowest in five decades. And just when the club’s fortunes appeared to be on the mend again with United consistently pushing for a top-four spot, the Portuguese manager finds himself without a job, just five days into the new year.

Amorim leaves Old Trafford with the Red Devils currently sixth on the Premier League table after 20 games, with U-18s coach Darren Fletcher set to take charge on an interim basis starting with Wednesday’s away game against Burnley.

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Amorim’s refusal to evolve to blame for his exit from Old Trafford?

Amorim’s exit comes just two days after United were held to a 1-1 draw by 16th-ranked Leeds United at Elland Road. The former Sporting CP boss later took a shot at the United management by hinting at the fact that he was not getting enough support from the board and claimed he deserved more power and authority than what was granted to him.

“I came here to be the manager of Manchester United, not to be the coach of Manchester United, and that is clear,” Amorim had said during the press conference, in which reiterated that he was not going to resign from the post.

The fiery post-match comment, however, might not be the reason behind Amorim’s outster from United, but a reaction to what had happened before the match. According to a report on The Telegraph, his fate was likely sealed before the ball even got rolling during the Leeds-United fixture at Elland Road.

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Amorim had a meeting with Jason Wilcox, the club’s director of football, on Friday on the eve of the away fixture. The latter reportedly intended for the discussion to be a positive look at the evolution of the 20-time English top-flight champions since Amorim succeeded Erik ten Hag in the role in November 2024.

The meeting, however, turned sour the moment Amorim’s preferred 3-4-3 formation was brought up. The Portuguese manager reportedly “blew up” after he was quizzed on falling back on his preferred formation regardless of whether it was suitable for the opposition at hand or not, and it was this point that ultimately sealed his fate as far as his future at Old Trafford was concerned.

United, after all, had expected Amorim to evolve his game to something that is more suited to what the Red Devils are used to with passage of time, but felt that hasn’t been the case in the 14 months that have gone by. Their decision to splurge over £200 million on signings during the summer had also been made with the intent that Amorim would be flexible with their positions and systems, and not just stick to what has worked for him at Sporting and elsewhere.

The decision was ultimately taken by Wilcox and Omar Berrada, United’s chief excecutive which had the support of the board, despite co-owner Jim Ratcliffe having recently claimed that he would continue backing Amorim and even give him a three-year run at Old Trafford. Wilcox and Berrada later conveyed the news to Amorim at the club’s Carrington training ground on Monday morning.

The report adds that while interim manager Fletcher will be in charge for Wednesday’s game against Burnley as well as Sunday’s FA Cup third-round tie against Brighton at home, he might be asked to remain in the role until the end of the season.