By Lori Ewing
MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) -Manchester United have named Portuguese Ruben Amorim as head coach to replace Erik ten Hag, the Premier League club said on Friday, hoping one of Europe’s brightest young managers can restore them to former glories.
The 39-year-old Amorim will join United on a contract until 2027, with a club option for an additional year, on Nov. 11, once he has fulfilled his obligations to Sporting — a club he revived during his four-and-a-half years in charge.
“Ruben is one of the most exciting and highly rated young coaches in European football,” United said in a statement.
“Highly decorated as both a player and coach, his titles include winning the Primeira Liga twice in Portugal with Sporting CP; the first of which was the club’s first title in 19 years.
“Ruud van Nistelrooy will continue to take charge of the team until Ruben joins.”
The charismatic Amorim, known for his crowd-pleasing style of high pressing and possession-based football, took Sporting to Primeira Liga titles in 2021 and 2024 and they lead the standings again this season.
United, who have been in the doldrums by their standards since the era of manager Alex Ferguson, moved swiftly to secure Amorim after axing Dutchman Ten Hag on Oct. 28 following another woeful start to the season.
Sporting said on Tuesday that United were prepared to pay the 10 million euros ($10.86 million) release clause.
With United languishing 14th in the Premier League, their former player and assistant coach Van Nistelrooy was appointed interim manager, with the Dutchman overseeing a 5-2 League Cup fourth round victory over Leicester City in his first match.
He will in charge for three more games before Amorim’s arrival, including Sunday’s league match against Chelsea at Old Trafford.
Amorim, a former midfielder who played for Portugal, becomes United’s sixth permanent manager since their most successful boss Ferguson, who led the club to a record 13 league titles.
The Portuguese coach is tasked with taking United back to their glory days in one of football’s most scrutinised jobs.
SOUGHT AFTER
Amorim had been coveted by other clubs, including Liverpool where he was linked with replacing Juergen Klopp last season before the Merseysiders hired Arne Slot.
He also held talks with West Ham United to replace David Moyes before he opted to remain in Lisbon.
Barcelona, Juventus and Bayern Munich were also linked with Amorim when appointing new managers in the close season.
Amorim had also been tipped as a potential replacement for Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, whose contract expires at the end of this season.
He was hailed as a hero for saving Sporting from despair after he was appointed in March 2020, the club’s third manager that season.
Amorim had just led Braga to League Cup success after two months in charge, with 10 wins in 13 games, including their first away victory in 65 years over Benfica, where he had spent nine years as a player.
Sporting came calling, signing him for 10 million euros. Amorim instilled the clear identity Sporting were lacking, and they ended their 19-year league title drought in a remarkable 2020-21 season in which they lost once and won the League Cup.
Last season, they lost just two league games and finished 10 points ahead of second-placed Benfica.
Amorim played professionally for 14 years, mainly as a central midfielder, and featured 14 times for Portugal. He made his senior first-team debut for Belenenses in Portugal’s first division in 2003 before signing for Benfica in 2008.
He retired in 2017 aged 32 after more than a year without playing having torn knee ligaments, and then had a season on loan at Qatari club Al-Wakrah.
Amorim began enrolling in management courses soon after.
He is no stranger to Old Trafford, having done an internship under then-United manager Jose Mourinho in 2018, and has called the Portuguese coach a “reference point” in his career.
Amorim usually employs a 3-4-3 formation with high pressing and possession football. His laid back demeanour means he is well liked by the media.
He has a fan in United captain and Portugal midfielder Bruno Fernandes who said this month: “Since Mr Amorim arrived at Sporting, it has been one of the teams to play the best football.
“Sporting went 20 years without winning championships and Amorim arrived and has already won two, this shows that the work has been done well.”
($1 = 0.9206 euros)
(Reporting by Lori Ewing; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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