Former Manchester United assistant manager Rui Faria has slammed Ineos for reducing the power given to coaches following their decision to dismiss Ruben Amorim after 14 months.
Ruben Amorim was given his marching orders at Manchester United on Monday.
The former United head coach was furious after a hard-fought draw against Leeds at Elland Road, but it had nothing to do with the result or performance. Amorim challenged Ineos, which made his job untenable, despite Sir Jim Ratcliffe publicly backing the Portuguese coach in October by stressing that he would be given three years to turn things around at Old Trafford.
United are currently seventh in the Premier League following a 2-2 draw with Burnley on Wednesday night. It was Darren Fletcher’s first game in the dugout as caretaker manager, but the Scot will be hoping for his first win when Brighton visit Old Trafford in the FA Cup third round on Sunday.
The 1958 have launched a blistering attack on the way Sir Jim Ratcliffe is running Man Utd
What is your view? Have your say and don't hold back!
“After lurching from one disaster to another, Ratcliffe comes across as an incompetent clown turning the club into a circus. Instead of best in class we’re a laughing stock.”
The 1958
Many figures within the football world have had their say on the events at United this week, including Jose Mourinho.
Now, Mourinho’s trusted former assistant, Rui Faria, has weighed in.
Rui Faria outlines flaws with Ineos model at Man Utd
Faria served as assistant manager at United under Mourinho for much of the latter’s tenure at Old Trafford.
After working at United between the summer of 2016 and December 2018, Faria left just a few months before Mourinho was sacked.
Faria had lots of responsibilities during his time at the club. He was Mourinho’s right-hand man who organised the tactical periodisation of training sessions.
The 50-year-old also played a key role in scrapping GPS tracking vests at United, which drew significant criticism at the time.
However, Faria has taken to Instagram to react to the news of Amorim’s sacking at United.
The ex-United coach, who currently works as a UEFA Technical Observer, believes that Ineos’ model at United is flawed.
“A great club’s philosophy used to be about silverware,” Faria said.
“Coaches were hired for their winning streaks in order to achieve the club objectives. Today, coaches are often hired according to their willingness to accept a club’s business plan.
“Coaches are led to believe they’re at the helm of a sports project in which they can manage their own decision-making while influencing different departments in order to achieve sporting success.
“The club’s business plan, however, is essentially about numbers – with each department set up to achieve its own objectives, contesting any coaching decision that could hinder its own targets – regardless of on-field results.
“A winning football team is more than the sum of department parts and the setting of department-by-department objectives often comes at the cost of points and silverware won.”
SHOULD Ineos be doing more moves between United, Nice and Lausanne?
Would you like to see Unied using Nice like Chelsea use Strasbourg?
Faria concluded: “Yet the coach still remains the face of an unsuccessful project – even when their power is reduced to almost nothing!”
Ineos will now go back to the drawing board to find a new head coach. All eyes are on Jason Wilcox as the football director needs to make the right call.
Rui Faria has questioned Man Utd in the past
This isn’t the first time Faria has expressed concerns about the way United is run as a football club.
The Glazers were heavily criticised in the past, although Faria has noticed issues with the running of the club since Ineos took control of football operations.
In August 2025, Faria issued another post on Instagram, saying: “It saddens me how some great clubs have lost their way – their histories and cultures no longer critical to new coaches and players.
“Even if new owners want to win silverware, the objective of winning quickly is replaced by a new trend of ‘preparing foundations for the future”… A future that often has a negative evolution!
“This idea is reinforced by a narrative that squads lack quality players, or of young players developing through competition.
“Fortunately, I lived a time where club triumph was more important than all else. Professionally, we demand a winning mentality, then delivered elite results. A beautiful era!”
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
