A report published after the surprise dismissal of Ruben Amorim in front of the Manchester United revealed that his departure was not only due to poor sporting results, but also to internal tensions with several Argentine footballers and friction with the leadership that ended up bringing forward his departure.
The article published in the sports section of the newspaper The New York Times indicated that, towards the end of December, Amorim had an intense confrontation with Lisandro Martínez during training, after the defender expressed his discontent for not starting in some games. This intersection became one of the sources of conflict that showed poor communication between the coach and part of the professional team.
“He and Martínez faced each other during training in Decemberat the time when United faced Crystal Palace and West Ham United. Martínez considered himself ready to start and, believing that Amorim was pushing him away, he let him know in a manner described as ‘intense’. Martínez, who was a substitute against Palace and West Ham, did not start until Boxing Day against Newcastle, but was named captain and wore the armband during Amorim’s last two games, demonstrating the manager’s admiration for his energy,” cited the note signed by journalists Laurie Whitwell, Adam Crafton and Mark Critchley.
Another of the key points in his dismissal was the frustrated arrival of the world champion goalkeeper. The Portuguese coach insisted on reinforcing the squad with Emiliano “Dibu” Martíneza wish also shared by some players, including his own Martínez. However, after the operation fell through, the board decided to sign another goalkeeper: the Belgian Senne Lammens. The refusal of his request marked a break, and the former Sporting Lisbon coach was finally marginalized from decisions about the team’s reinforcements.
Another clear focus of the report was the relationship with Alejandro Garnacho. The conflict between the two ended up affecting the group atmosphere and, according to the report, the Argentine winger reacted with relief and celebration after the dismissal of Amorimliking a journalist’s publication Fabrizio Romanotelling the news, which highlights how tense that relationship was.
After losing the 2024 Europa League final against Tottenham, the Bug He was forceful at a press conference regarding the former Sporting Lisbon coach: “Until the final I have played all the rounds, I have helped the team. Today, playing 20 minutes… I don’t know,” he declared. This statement did not sit well with Amorim, who responded that he would not take him into account for the first team: “You better pray that you find a club that will buy you”he expressed to the Argentine, which led to the bankruptcy of the relationship between the two.
“At the Old Trafford meeting, Gill (David, an advisor alongside Sir Alex Ferguson) raised objections of his own, questioning Amorim for relegating some of the club’s biggest names to the ‘bomb squad’, pointing out that removing Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho, Jadon Sancho and Antony cost the club millionsb. “Some at United believe the deal for Garnacho, who left for Chelsea for £40m in August, reduced his value by £15m,” the article said.
Amorim He also resisted tactical changes proposed by the leadership, such as moving to a line of four defenders. An internal source declared: “The coach did not want to change his style of play, but the results and the pressure from above made it difficult.” Decision that the coach did not want to accept.
In addition to the tensions with the Argentine footballers, the disagreements with the Manchester United executives and the team’s poor performance, the Portuguese’s dismissal was also driven by his very poor winning percentage: 38.1%, the lowest in the Red Devils’ Premier League era. This data served as an additional argument to justify the change.
The leadership explained to the players that the decision was a consequence of recent attitudes and the loss of confidence in the final stretch of the training cycle. Amorim. Some members of the squad expressed discomfort due to communication failures and a certain perceived distance in the relationship with the coach. Together, these factors not only explain why Amorim let Old Trafford after just 14 months, but also the climate of division that marked his last days at the helm of one of the biggest clubs in the world.