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Ruben Amorim on Wednesday sought to clarify his bombshell statement that his Manchester United side are “the worst team” in the club’s history, with the manager accepting a share of responsibility for the crisis at Old Trafford.

United’s 3-1 defeat against Brighton on Sunday was the sixth loss in their past nine Premier League games under Amorim, who arrived in November to replace the sacked Erik ten Hag.

The club, languishing in 13th place in the Premier League table, face Scottish giants Rangers in the Europa League on Thursday, a competition in which they are well-positioned to qualify for the knockout stages.

Former Sporting Lisbon boss Amorim, 39, addressed his post-Brighton comments during a pre-match press conference on Wednesday.

“I was talking more about me than the players,” he said. “I also talked in the same response (that) I was not helping my players and if you look around, every time I speak, and I speak a lot, every time you push that the players are not good enough I never put the spot(light) on my players. ”

He added: “I’m frustrated sometimes and sometimes I should not say it in those terms but it is what it is and sometimes it’s really hard to hide the frustration in some moments. But the good thing is that I said the same things in a different way in the dressing room five minutes before.

“The response was quite normal because I’m really blunt with my players”.

– ‘Nervous’ United –

Amorim said his under-performing side were “too nervous, really anxious” and games at Old Trafford were even tougher.

“We are more nervous playing at home than away because we lost a lot of games, like four games in five. So it’s getting harder,” he said.

“But we can improve. I think if we don’t suffer the first goal, like in the fourth minute, and I remember like it’s fourth minute, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, and then it’s really hard to calm down the team.

“The first thing in my mind is they (the opposition) cannot score. We need to score the first one. If we score the first one, I think that will change and we’ll play better at home in the beginning. ”

Former United captain Harry Maguire, speaking at the same press conference, said the players have “got to look at ourselves”.

“We’ve got to take responsibility on ourselves and as an individual that’s what I do. I go home and think about how I can help this team improve and get back to where we want to get back to and that’s challenging,” he said.

Amorim shut down a question over the potential sale of Alejandro Garnacho — the Argentine winger has been linked with moves to Napoli and Chelsea during the January transfer window.

Brazilian star Neymar is in discussions about leaving his Saudi club Al-Hilal but his financial demands are holding up an agreement, a club source told AFP on Wednesday.

The 32-year-old former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain forward has had an injury-plagued stay in Saudi Arabia, playing just seven times despite a reported salary of around $104 million a year.

The source, who spoke on condition that he was not identified, said: “Neymar is discussing his departure with Al-Hilal but his high financial demands remain a major obstacle. ”

Neymar is under contract with the Saudi Pro League club until June.

Reports in Brazil say Santos, the club where Neymar made his name in his now fading career, are in talks for him to return to his homeland but Al-Hilal would prefer a transfer while Neymar wants a loan deal.

Neymar, the subject of what is still the biggest transfer in football history when he joined PSG from Barcelona in 2017 for a fee of 220 million euros ($230 million), joined Al-Hilal in August 2023.

He followed fellow superstars Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema to the lucrative Saudi league.

But two months after his arrival in Riyadh, he ruptured a cruciate ligament in his left knee while playing for Brazil in a 2026 World Cup qualifier, which kept him on the sidelines for a year.

He then suffered a series of hamstring and knee injuries as he tried to return to action for Al-Hilal.

The club’s coach Jorge Jesus said recently: “He can no longer play at the level we are used to. Things have become difficult for him, unfortunately. ”

A return to Brazil would likely be the last chance for a player who is his country’s all-time leading scorer with 79 goals in 127 matches.

Borussia Dortmund have fired head coach Nuri Sahin in the wake of Tuesday’s 2-1 Champions League loss at Bologna, saying they had “lost faith” in him.

Dortmund were beaten finalists in the competition last season, but the loss on Tuesday was the club’s fourth successive defeat in all competitions.

In the Bundesliga, Dortmund sit 10th, 20 points behind leaders Bayern Munich.

German media reported potential successors included former Manchester United boss Erik Ten Hag, who has been seen attending Dortmund games recently, or one-time Benfica and Bayer Leverkusen handler Roger Schmidt.

Sahin was assistant to former Dortmund coach Edin Terzic in last season’s surprise run to the Champions League final where they lost to Real Madrid and the 36-year-old was promoted to head coach in the summer.

“We have unfortunately lost faith that we will achieve our sporting goals,” sporting CEO Lars Ricken said on Wednesday.

Ricken added the decision “hurts… but was unavoidable after the game in Bologna.

“We value Nuri Sahin and his work very much, we hoped for a long collaboration and until the end we had hope that we could achieve a sporting turnaround together. ”

The sacking continues a tumultuous time for recent Dortmund managers.

Since Jurgen Klopp’s departure in 2015, Dortmund have had eight head coaches, including Terzic’s two stints at the club. Only one, Lucien Favre, has stayed for longer than two years.

Later on Wednesday, Dortmund announced U19 coach Mike Tullberg would take over on an interim basis starting with Saturday’s home clash with Werder Bremen.

A disappointed Sahin said he “unfortunately was not able to live up to Dortmund’s sporting ambitions at this point in time.

“I wish this special club all the best. ”

  ‘Change of coach’

Sahin’s hiring maintained the club’s recent strategy of hiring former players in leadership roles.

Terzic grew up in the area and was a Dortmund scout and junior coach before taking the top job.

Ricken and sporting director Sebastian Kehl also had long careers as Dortmund players.

Sahin came through Dortmund’s junior ranks and played 274 games for the club — he was a member of the side that won the 2011 Bundesliga title — either side of stints at Real Madrid and Liverpool.

The Germany-born former Turkish international’s first head coach position was at Turkish side Antalyaspor, where he finished his playing career.

Sahin took Antalyaspor to seventh and 13th-placed finishes in the league, before he departed to become assistant manager at Dortmund in January 2023.

After Tuesday’s loss, Sahin told reporters “if I am the problem, or if a change of coach solves the issues, then that’s no problem at all. ”

Under Sahin this season, Dortmund have found it particularly tough away from their 82,000-capacity Westfalenstadion fortress, having lost nine and won just four of their 15 matches.

In addition to their poor league form, Sahin’s side were eliminated in the last 32 of the German Cup by Wolfsburg.

They do though still entertain hopes of reaching the knockout stage of the Champions League, despite the defeat by Bologna, as they lie 13th in the table.

Manchester City announced Tuesday they had completed the signing of teenage defender Vitor Reis from Brazilian club Palmeiras for a reported fee of £29. 6 million ($36. 2 million).

The 19-year-old Brazilian youth international has signed a four-and-a-half-year deal with the Premier League champions.

“I’m excited to join Manchester City, one of the biggest clubs in the world,” said the right-footed centre-back.

“Everyone has seen the amazing achievements in recent seasons and I want to make my mark as we seek more trophies.

“Working with Pep Guardiola is something every young player wants to do and I know he can help me to develop into the best player I can be. ”

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VR22 pic. twitter. com/SIPBLiJwco

City’s director of football Txiki Begiristain said: “Vitor Reis is one of the most promising young defenders in the world and we’re delighted to have been able to bring him here.

“He is excellent on the ball and outstanding in the air — he has all the attributes needed to be one of the best. ”

Reis is City’s second signing of the January transfer window after the arrival of Uzbekistan defender Abdukodir Khusanov.

The club are reportedly chasing Eintracht Frankfurt striker Omar Marmoush before the window closes.

City’s Premier League title defence has been hit by a spate of injuries this season, particularly in defence.

They are currently fifth in the table after a 6-0 win at Ipswich on Sunday.