New Delhi: Premier League outfit Manchester United have agreed to a deal with Portuguese club Sporting Lisbon over the hiring of their manager, Ruben Amorim. The Portuguese is said to stay with the Lisbon-based side for the next three games as part of the deal with him officially taking charge of his first United game on November 24, against Ipswich Town. He will still be in charge of Sporting’s upcoming games against Manchester City and SC Braga.
This was a key aspect in getting the deal over the line as the Portuguese club wanted their star manager at the club for this crucial period before the last international break of the year. The 39-year-old had a €10million release clause in his contract which the Red Devils agreed to pay but there was also a 30-day notice period that he had to serve. The English club are also willing to offer an additional one million euros to get the manager to start his work during the international break
Sporting were demanding an additional €5 million for an immediate release, according to people familiar with the deal in Portugal and there has also been conversations about the departure of the staff that Amorim will take along with him. First-team coaches Emanuel Ferro, Adelio Candido, and Carlos Fernandes, goalkeeping coach Jorge Vital and sports scientist Paulo Barreira will all be leaving Sporting with Amorim.
BREAKING: Ruben Amorim is expected to be officially confirmed as Manchester United’s new manager today and will start during the international break 🚨 pic.twitter.com/PLBUgLDnlL
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) October 31, 2024
The former Portuguese international is well loved by the fans in his nation’s capital and wants an extremely smooth and non-controversial exit from a club that he’s called home for four years. He’s etched his name in Sporting’s history books with two league titles in his four years, one of which was their first ever league triumph in 19 years, and understandably so, didn’t want to leave on bad terms.
Manchester United’s CEO Omar Berrada and sporting director Dan Ashworth have been in Lisbon since Erik Ten Hag was sacked and were the ones leading the talks for United regarding the appointment of Amorim as manager. The Red Devils were open to the option as they consider Ruud van Nistelrooy capable of stepping up as interim manager. This situation confirms that Van Nistelrooy would be in charge of four games as interim manager.
Starting with the 5-2 win over Leicester in the Carabao Cup last night, the other games are the upcoming league clashes against Chelsea an Leicester City and the Europa League fixture against PAOK. While his long-term future with the club isn’t clear considering the hoard of backroom staff Amorim is bringing with him, he has said that he’d be willing to work in any capacity the incoming manager sees fit.
Who will replace Ruben Amorim?
🚨 Sporting B team manager João Pereira will be the new manager of Sporting’s first-team, replacing Ruben Amorim. #MUFC [@pedromsepulveda] pic.twitter.com/PSYdoNDpUf
— mufcmpb (@mufcMPB) October 29, 2024
The implications of this deal just don’t end with Manchester United as Sporting will also have to make some huge calls and rack their brains. The club were already losing their Director of Football to Manchester, with Hugo Viana joining Manchester City in 2025 but have now also lost one of their best ever managers. He’s gotten them off to a flying start with nine wins out of nine in the league, with his team having scored 30 goals and conceded less than two, and the club will now have to find a suitable successor for the 39-year-old.
Portuguese outlet A Bola reports that former Sporting defender, Joao Pereira, who is currently managing the B side of Sporting will be promoted to first-team manager following Amorim’s departure. The former Portuguese international has already received praise from the man he will be succeeding back in May saying, “I think he is an excellent coach, he has all the conditions to become Sporting’s coach.” Even the club’s president Frederico Varandas, is a fan of the coach and he could be given a chance to help Sporting win back-to-back league titles in 70 years.
