Official: Man Utd appoint Ruben Amorim as Erik ten Hag’s successor with start date announced

Joe Williams
New Man Utd boss Ruben Amorim
Ruben Amorim has been appointed the new Manchester United manager.

Premier League side Man Utd have announced the appointment of Sporting Lisbon boss Ruben Amorim as their new manager on Friday afternoon.

The Red Devils announced on Monday morning that they had sacked Erik ten Hag after a terrible start to the season sees them in 14th position in the Premier League.

Man Utd have won just three of their opening nice matches of the season with only Southampton and Crystal Palace scoring fewer goals in the Premier League.

And on Monday afternoon there were already reports claiming that Sporting Lisbon manager Amorim was the one Man Utd want to replace Ten Hag.

Reports claimed that Man Utd were willing to pay his reported €10m release clause, while Fulham’s Marco Silva and former Barcelona boss Xavi were also being linked.

By paying his release clause, it means that Amorim does not have to serve a 30-day notice period, while Man Utd are also looking to bring his backroom staff with the Portuguese coach.

And now Man Utd have officially confirmed the decision to replace Ten Hag with Amorim, a short statement on their website read:

‘Manchester United is delighted to announce the appointment of Ruben Amorim as Head Coach of the men’s first team, subject to work visa requirements.

‘He will join until June 2027 with a club option of an additional year, once he has fulfilled his obligations to his current club. He will join Manchester United on Monday 11 November.

‘Ruben is one of the most exciting and highly rated young coaches in European football. Highly decorated as both a player and coach, his titles include winning the Primeira Liga twice in Portugal with Sporting CP; the first of which was the club’s first title in 19 years.

‘Ruud van Nistelrooy will continue to take charge of the team until Ruben joins.’

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But not everyone is excited about the appointment with former Man Utd midfielder Paul Scholes insisting that the hype around Amorim “feels a bit like” when Ten Hag first joined.

Scholes said on The Overlap: “I think Thomas Tuchel was the right one to coach Manchester United, but obviously he’s gone now with England. He’s someone that can manage an elite football club and win big games. He’s been there and done it.

“I agree on Rúben Amorim – it [the hype] feels a bit like Erik ten Hag [when he joined Manchester United], he’s coming from the Portuguese league which is a bit better than the Dutch league. What he’s done there has been good – he looks charismatic, and that he has a bit about him.

“I know he’s meant to sign in the coming days and hours, but Sporting play Manchester City next week, and Arsenal in the next three or four weeks – it might be a chance to give him a public interview, and see how he handles the media, see how his team plays.

“In England, we don’t watch a lot of Portuguese football, so we don’t know too much. We see them a bit in European football, and all the things we hear about him are good – exciting football, three at the back and possession based – something United don’t really do. If he comes in to do that, it could be exciting.”