Manchester United considered a number of names before hiring Ruben Amorim, along with six other players, including Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter, ahead of Erik ten Hag’s sacking.
Manchester United considered six different players, including Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter, to be their next manager, but after sacking Erik ten Hag almost a year ago, they ultimately changed their approach and named Ruben Amorim as their next manager.
The Dutchman was sacked after a poor start to the season and United moved to bring in the Portuguese manager, who was then at Sporting Lisbon, but had fallen off the team’s radar a few months ago.
United began searching for a new manager after winning the FA Cup in 2024, with Ten Hag under pressure despite his success at Wembley. After leaving Bayern Munich and meeting club leaders in Monaco, Tuchel was an unemployed man but wanted a break.
Potter had just had a miserable spell at Chelsea, with some questioning his ability to play at the top level, but he still remained a possibility. According to The Athletic, Roberto De Zerbi, Mauricio Pochettino, Thomas Frank and Marco Silva are also on the shortlist.
Director of football Jason Wilcox spoke to Amorim and was impressed, but felt that a move to United from Sporting, which was in need of a rebuild, would be too difficult.
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It is believed that an offer was made to De Zerbi, who had just left Brighton, but he turned down the approach for financial reasons and took the Marseille job soon after. Frank and Silva had seen their stock prices rise while operating in west London with Brentford and Fulham respectively.
Neither man chose to jump. Frank then left the Bees to become manager of Tottenham, but Silva remained at Fulham. Thiago Motta, who had a good performance with Bologna and was due to join Juventus, was seen as an up-and-coming talent alongside Amorim, but the transfer did not materialize.
When the going got tough and United opted to sack Ten Hag, leaving the club in 14th place with three wins from nine league games, they turned to Amorim. He continued to impress at Sporting, with two league titles, three domestic cups and a 71 per cent win rate all too tempting.
United had a five-hour meeting with him in Seville on October 18, where he explained his vision and were impressed by what he had to offer. Amorim repeatedly expressed hesitation about taking over the job midway through the season, but when it became clear that now was the time, he took the plunge.
The club’s leading figures have repeatedly stood by their decision to appoint the Portuguese manager, despite a history of dismissals since his appointment. Sir Jim Ratcliffe recently claimed he needs three years to prove he is a top coach.
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