Amorim sacked by Man Utd after 14 months in charge

Amorim made the alleged suggestion on Friday that his relationship with club officials was strained, which suggested he might not have received full support from the transfer market.

The Portuguese made a second dig at senior United figures after the 1-1 draw with Leeds on Sunday, declaring he wanted to work as a manager “not the coach” and was willing to step down when his contract expired in 18 months.

After 14 months in charge, Amorim officially “departed his role as head coach of Manchester United.” Less than 24 hours later, the organization announced Amorim’s departure.

The leadership of Manchester United has unrepentantly decided that the moment is right to make a change, according to United, who sits sixth in the Premier League.

The team will have the best chance to achieve the highest Premier League finish possible thanks to this.

Ruben’s contribution to the organization merits recognition and best wishes for him in the future.

The coaching staff at Amorim also left United.

The club felt there wasn’t enough evidence of evolution or advancement under Amorim this season, according to sources who spoke to BBC Sport.

The 40-year-old took over the Red Devils in November 2024 and won 25 of his 63 games there.

Amorim’s 14-month tenure at United is the shortest under his belt since David Moyes was fired just eight months into his position in 2014.

Fletcher, a former United midfielder, is currently the head coach of the under-18s and the club’s technical director between 2021 and 2024. He has never held a senior coaching position.

The 41-year-old former Scotland international won five Premier League titles and the 2007-08 Champions League while playing for United between 2002 and 2015.

Amorim described his team as “perhaps the worst” in the club’s 147-year history in January 2024.

They finished 15th overall in the Premier League, their lowest top-flight position since 1974 when they were relegated from Division One.

United did make it to the Europa League final in May, but they lost to Tottenham 1-0, which meant they had missed out on a spot in Europe for the first time since 2014-15.

Bryan Mbeumo, Benjamin Sesko, Matheus Cunha, and Senne Lammens were just a few of the players who Amorim signed this summer, spending £216 million on them.

Before finally changing the team’s shape in the past few weeks, he spent the majority of his reign refusing to change his preferred 3-4-3 system, which had proven so effective during his previous position at Sporting.

Amorim, who made the dig at the board last week, acknowledged last week that he would need to “adapt” because he would not be given the necessary funds to “bring in the right players to fit his preferred formation.

When United defeated Newcastle 1-0 on December 26 with a back four, Amorim changed to five when Wolves held them to a draw four days later.

Amorim had the worst win percentage of any Manchester United manager (32%), the worst goals scored per game ratio (1. 53), and the worst clean sheet ratio (15%).