Ruben Amorim Disagrees With Sir Alex Ferguson’s Worrying Prediction

Ruben Amorim has played down Sir Alex Ferguson’s damning prediction regarding how long Manchester United may have to wait for their next Premier League title. The Portuguese coach responded to Ferguson, whom he says he regularly turns to for advice.

It’s been 12 years since United were last crowned champions, and that was Ferguson’s final act as he bid farewell to the club after an iconic 27-year reign. The Scot is the most successful manager in English top-flight history, having won 13 titles while at the helm.

Amorim is the seventh manager to be appointed at Old Trafford since Ferguson retired in 2013, and his side aren’t in this season’s title race. The Red Devils coach is aware that he has a massive job on his hands restoring the club’s glory days.

Sir Alex Tips Man Utd Lengthy Title Drought To Continue

Amorim likely won’t be in charge by the time Ferguson has predicted United will next win the Premier League. The 83-year-old reckons it might take a decade for his former club to reclaim its status as the top club in England.

Ferguson gave his thoughts on Amorim and acknowledged the similarities between the 40-year-old’s difficult start in Manchester to his own. He told Press Box PR:

“He (Amorim) is a good personality. It is not easy. I remember looking back on my own time there, starting off when Liverpool were the bee’s knees. They were a fantastic club winning the European Cup four times and all that, but then it took them 31 years to win the league again.”

He suggested that United’s rebuild will continue to take many years:

“We are now in the same situation. It could be 10 years, could be 11 years, because of that cycle. It has to be thought out carefully and we have to make sure the recruitment is going to be better than what it was.”

United have finished second in the league just twice since their 2012-13 title-winning season, and that came in 2017-18 under Jose Mourinho and 2020-21 with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in charge. They haven’t just struggled to compete for the title; they’ve dropped out of the top four, finishing 15th under Amorim last season, their worst league position in the club’s history.

Amorim’s Take on Man United’s Title Wait

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Amorim’s appointment in November 2024 was viewed as an exciting one, given his success in transforming a broken Sporting CP team. He took over with the Portuguese outfit in a rebuilding phase, but took a year to guide the club to its first title in 19 years.

There are similarities between the Red Devils’ nosedive and the state of Sporting at that time. But Amorim told reporters on Friday he doesn’t think it will take another decade for the English giants to become champions:

“He (Ferguson) understands football more than me, especially English football. I think we are not (going to) take that long to win a league.”

Amorim’s current contract with United expires in the summer of 2027 but he suggested his side will be back fighting for the title sooner rather than later:

“I don’t know which manager is going to be here, but I truly believe that we can fight for the title in the next years. I think it’s not going to take so many years, but you never know.”

United co-owners INEOS have reportedly set a plan for the club to win the title by 2028, which would be a year after Amorim’s deal is up. But their backing of the Portuguese could suggest he is the man they want to oversee their return to the top of English football.