Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim walked out of his own press conference after the 1-1 draw against Leeds – after delivering a pointed message to the club’s ownership about his future.
United dropped points for the second time in four days, having gone 1-0 down in the second half through Brendan Aaronson’s goal at Elland Road.
Matheus Cunha equalised for the away side on 65 minutes, but United couldn’t find a winner.
Amorim fielded six defenders at Elland Road and only brought on Joshua Zirkzee, with his bench otherwise consisting of U21 players, goalkeeper Altay Bayindir and former ‘bomb squad’ member Tyrell Malacia.The squad has been heavily stretched by a mixture of injury problems and AFCON commitments, with the likes of Bruno Fernandes, Matthijs de Ligt, Mason Mount, Bryan Mbeumo and Amad Diallo all currently unavailable.
Amorim’s press conference comments in recent weeks have caused a stir among United supporters, with the Portuguese boss hinting that he would move away from his trusted 3-4-3 formation because ‘we need to spend a lot of money and we need time’.
He did not reply when asked whether he knew about the club’s position in terms of recruitment when he took the job in November 2024.
Now, Amorim has delivered what appears to be a pointed message to the club’s football department, which is overseen by INEOS, claiming he joined United to be ‘a manager, not the coach’.
He then went as far as to suggest that he could quit the club altogether when his contract expires in 2027, before walking out.
“I came here to be manager of Manchester United, not the coach,” he said.
“Every department, the scouting department, the sporting director, needs to do their job. I will do mine, for 18 months, and then we move on.”
His response was in part prompted by a question from a journalist, who asked whether he still felt the confidence of the club’s board.
He replied: “I notice that you receive selective information about everything. I came here to be the manager of Manchester United. Not the coach of Manchester United. That is clear.
“I know that my name is not [Thomas] Tuchel. It’s not [Antonio] Conte. It’s not [Jose] Mourinho. I’m the manager of Manchester United.
“It’s going to be like this for 18 months, or until the board decide to change. That is my point. I want to finish with that.
“I’m not going to quit. I will do my job until another guy comes here to replace me.”
When pressed again about whether ‘certain assurances’, such as the ability to manage the team, are as he expected, he again cast into doubt his future as manager beyond the end of his contract.
“I just want to say that I’m going to be the manager of the team, not the coach,” he reiterated. “I was really clear on that.
“That is going to finish in 18 months, and then everyone is going to move on. That was the deal. That is my job, not to be a coach.
“If people cannot handle the Gary Nevilles, and the criticism of everything, we need to change the club.”
Amorim signed a three-and-a-half year contract with United in November 2023, and was officially named as the club’s head coach.
But after being appointed, he said that he would be allowed ‘to do things my way, and the club believes me that way’.
Though United are still majority owned by the Glazer family, minority co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS now head the football department.
Featured Image Credit: Beanyman Sport
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