Ruben Amorim has hinted he will leave the club after 18 months as he seeks more authority at Manchester United after a post-match press conference came to a heated conclusion. Amorim spoke after the Red Devils’ 1-1 draw with Leeds United and cast doubt on his long-term future at Old Trafford. The Portuguese manager wants to be a manager rather than a head coach at United, but has nevertheless indicated he will leave the job when his contract expires in the summer of 2027.
Amorim, who has been United’s head coach since taking over in November 2024, hinted when he spoke to journalists on Friday that he wants more power at the club. And after the draw against Leeds, the 40-year-old manager said: “Guys, I’m going to stop talking about this, but I’m aware that you’re receiving selective information about everything. I came here to be Manchester United manager, not Manchester United. – I’m not here to be the manager of United. That’s clear. I know my name isn’t[Thomas]Tuchel or[Antonio]Conte or[Jose]Mourinho, but I’m the manager of Manchester United.
“And this situation is going to continue for 18 months or until the board decides to make a change. That’s what I was saying. I want this to be over. I’m not going to quit. I’m going to do my job until someone else comes here to take my place.”
Amorim hinted at a broken promise from INEOS regarding his authority at the club, after repeating several times that he would leave when his existing contract at Old Trafford expires. He said: “What I want to say is I’m not just going to be a coach, I’m going to be a manager of this team and I’ve been really clear about that.
“And it will be over in 18 months and then everyone will move on. That was the deal. That’s my job, not to be a coach. If people can’t stand the criticism of Gary Neville and everything, then we need to change clubs.”
“No, guys, all I’m saying is that I came here to be the manager of Manchester United, not to be the coach. And each department, the scouting department, the sporting director, needs to do their job. I’m going to do my job for 18 months and then move on.”
Player Rating: 4 5/10s as United draw with Leeds
Speaking to TNT Sports about the match itself, Amorim admitted that United left Elland Road “frustrated” despite Matheus Cunha canceling out Brenden Aaronson’s opener 174 seconds later. He said: “I think we played well, I think we had better control in this game than we showed against Wolves.
“This is important because it shows how we can prepare for this week based on the mistakes we learned from the last game. We controlled Leeds with set pieces and second balls. They were really fast up front. We controlled well. We had a chance to win the game.”
Amorim then spoke about the transfer window opening in January and once again hinted that there will be no reinforcements this month. He added: “United are one of the best clubs in the world. If you’re here and you’re focusing on another club, something is wrong. We just have to focus on the game and prepare with the players we have. We have more. We expect (Bruno) Fernandes and (Mason) Mount to get more minutes, so we have more players who can help us.”
Goalscorer Cunha told the BBC: “It’s easy to say you want to win every game, but of course there was a negative feeling after the draw with Wolves at Old Trafford 3, so we wanted to change that and come here and win and get into the top four. Today it’s like that again. We wanted to win but we drew so we have to go again.”
“I feel like we did OK in the first half. We talked in the locker room about managing the press and tried to do some things, but we just couldn’t create too many points. We had a goal in the second half, but I think it didn’t get everyone’s attention enough, but we got it three minutes later, so it gave us the energy to try harder.”
United resume play on Wednesday night, traveling to Turf Moor to face 19th-placed Burnley, who have won just three of their 20 Premier League games so far this season.
