Sports
Why Ruben Amorim Named Tuchel, Conte and Mourinho Before Sacking
The reason Ruben Amorim named Thomas Tuchel, Antonio Conte and Jose Mourinho in his final press conference before being sacked at Manchester United has now emerged. It had initially appeared that the Red Devils’ 1-1 draw with Leeds United at the weekend was the tipping point in the club’s decision to hand him his P45 on Monday morning.
However, fresh reports suggest the club’s hierarchy had already planned to part ways with the 40-year-old prior to the weekend, despite Sir Jim Ratcliffe only recently maintaining that Amorim deserved the chance to see out his contract, which runs until the summer of 2027. It merely transpired that another draw extended his final run as United boss to just three wins in 11 Premier League matches.
With the issues that led to the Red Devils’ worst-ever Premier League finish in the 2024/25 campaign showing little sign of improvement, the club must now return to square one once again, with 20 potential successors already named in the fallout. But what certainly will not have helped any sort of case he had in retaining his position was his pessimism during his final press conference.
Why Amorim Name-Dropped Three High-Profile Managers in Final Interview
“I know my name isn’t [Thomas] Tuchel, [Antonio] Conte or [Jose] Mourinho, but I’m the manager,” Amorim declared in his final interview as Manchester United boss, also stating that he would not be leaving the club unless the board decided otherwise.
Various sources, including The Independent, have since suggested these were the names put to Amorim as an argument for why he supposedly lacked the pedigree to speak as critically as he had. This indicates that the three high-profile managers he chose to name-drop were not selected at random. Watch his final press conference below:
Amorim spent much of his tenure speaking in a profoundly pessimistic tone, even labelling the current squad as the worst in the club’s history just months after taking over in November 2024. His refusal to alter tactics despite limited progress often fed into this outlook, as he grew increasingly worn down by what is widely regarded as football’s most stressful job.
What Man United Should Prioritise in Their Next Manager
With the Glazer family and Sir Jim Ratcliffe having now overseen eight permanent managers since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013 – none of whom have delivered sustainable success over that 13-year period – it is difficult to see where the Red Devils’ hierarchy can realistically turn next.
It is easy to argue that, after the issues of the Amorim era, the club needs someone genuinely invested in Man United and capable of building a culture at Old Trafford that replaces negativity with a glass-half-full approach. However, with recent suggestions ranging from a short-term return for Ole Gunnar Solskjær to giving Michael Carrick or Darren Fletcher an opportunity, there is a real risk that United prioritise “DNA” or “vibes” in lieu of a coherent, long-term plan.
Perhaps the prospect of Andoni Iraola or Oliver Glasner – stepping away from their roles as overachievers at Bournemouth and Crystal Palace – could prove tempting, a chance for them to exchange ingenuity on a shoestring budget for the resources to potentially cement their status among the finest minds in world football.
But yet, after so many failed searches for the right man, there is an inescapable doubt. Old Trafford has become a place where promise so often withers through players and coaches, and it remains uncertain whether anyone arriving at M6 could conjure the elixir capable of curing a rot that has long since set in.
