RUBEN AMORIM has revealed he did not want to join Manchester United until the end of the season and admitted “I changed my mind several times”.
The Red Devils announced Amorim, 39, as Erik ten Hag’s replacement on Friday morning and he will begin work at Old Trafford on November 11.
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He will remain in charge of Sporting for their games against Manchester City and Braga – and on Friday evening led the Portuguese champions to a 5-1 win over Estrela Amadora.
The result moves Sporting six points clear at the top of the Primeira Liga.
And Amorim confirmed after the game that he wanted to remain at Sporting until the end of the campaign but was told by Man Utd chiefs it was “now or never”.
He said: “I asked United if it could be at the end of the season. It was what I wanted. United said no. It was now or never. So I had to make a decision.
“This is exactly the context I wanted [United struggling] because I can do things my way.”
Before he added: “I changed my mind several times.
“My concern is not to harm the Sporting team, we’ll see later. I’ll have that concern when I’m at United.”
Amorim also quashed talk he was joining Man Utd for the money.
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He said: “Some people say it’s for money. It’s not.
“Other clubs were prepared to pay 3 times more and I refused. This is the club [United] I wanted.”
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The feeling around Amorim’s impending departure has divided the Sporting faithful.
Outside the stadium, there was a banner which read: “Amorim, this is not your home anymore, thank you.”
Other fans, though, took flags into the ground declaring their love for the coach who led the club to two titles.
When Amorim’s name was first read out 30 minutes before kick-off, there were whistles and jeers followed by applause.
But when the 39-year-old came out of the tunnel for the game, he received a standing ovation and applauded the fans.
After the game, Amorim said: “Obviously, since this whole situation came about I’ve felt different.
“I understand the anger of some fans and the disappointment. But that’s life. I was moved by the ovation and that’s how it is.
“Even the other statement, when it came out, was on a match day.
Ruben Amorim is ‘Mourinho 2.0’ who turned Sporting from ‘walking dead’ into Portuguese champs… he can revive Man Utd
WHEN Ruben Amorim took charge of Sporting Lisbon in March 2020, one club official compared their situation to the “walking dead”, writes Jordan Davies.
Optimism and hope was at an all-time low.
But the Amorim-effect was almost instantaneous, guiding the Portuguese sleeping giants to their first league title for 19 years in 2020/21, losing just once and only conceding 20 goals.
Since then, Sporting have lifted another league title in 2023/24 – as well as two League Cups – and currently sit top with nine wins from nine this term.
He may be young, but Amorim already has an eye for rebuilding and revitalising fallen super powers with his infectious charisma and intense tactical philosophy that hardly ever wavers.
The “walking dead” at Manchester United must be praying for a similar sort of revival.
And they may just get it from one of the most talented young coaches on the continent – a man accustomed to breathing new life back into crumbling institutions such as Old Trafford.
Amorim has spent the last decade dreaming of one day gracing England’s Premier League, such was his admiration for an ex-United boss in Jose Mourinho growing up.
Often nicknamed ‘Mourinho 2.0’, Amorim spent a week with his coaching idol in an internship capacity at United’s Carrington training base in 2018, going on to cite him as his “reference point”.
United should not be expecting a mini-Mourinho, as Amorim said himself: “Mourinho is one of a kind. There won’t be another Mourinho. Mourinho is unique.”
And yet, you cannot help but compare the two.
For all the mismanagement in the Old Trafford hot seats over the years, this would be a real get – finally a slap in the face United’s Prem rivals have no answer for.
“But clubs are now listed companies and they have to present all these things. There were two statements. But that’s how things are, there are things that we can’t control.
“I’m very grateful to the fans and to everything here. People think I wanted to leave straight away. In the next home game, whether we win or lose by 15-0, I’ll be there to see what the fans want to give me.
“I understand their anger, but we move on and time heals everything. It was the best period of my life.”
Amorim has won two league titles as Sporting manager – the first of which in 2021 ended a 19-year wait.
His Man Utd contract runs until 2027, with the option of an extra year.
The Red Devils paid £8.3million to trigger a release clause which allowed him to leave Sporting.
His first game in charge of Man Utd comes away at Ipswich on November 24.
United are understood to have paid an extra £900,000 to get him early rather than waiting a further three weeks.
Amorim has been highly sought this year following his success with Sporting.
Premier League rivals Liverpool were close to appointing the Lisbon gaffer before making the decision to bring in Arne Slot instead.
While he also held talks with West Ham over the summer and had been rumoured to be on a list of candidates to take over from Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.
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