Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has admitted that he learned a lot during his time around one legendary manager and remains in contact with him now.
Ruben Amorim has endured a mixed start to life at Old Trafford after he succeeded Erik ten Hag as Manchester United manager in 2024.
Erik ten Hag was axed last October after United’s woeful start to the 2024-25 Premier League season and Ruud van Nistelrooy took over as interim manager.
Ruud van Nistelrooy won three matches and picked up one draw in his four-match interim spell before he left Old Trafford ahead of Amorim’s arrival last November.
Amorim oversaw a rough end to 2024 with United after the Red Devils lost four consecutive matches — three in the Premier League alone — across all competitions.
However, the 39-year-old Portuguese manager has seen United turn their form around since the start of 2025 and the Red Devils have been building momentum.
United produced a superb performance against Liverpool in a 2-2 Premier League draw at Anfield before knocking Arsenal out of the FA Cup at the Emirates.
Amorim on former Man Utd man’s influence
Ruben Amorim’s playing career came to an end in 2017 and the Manchester United manager wasted no time pursuing his career in coaching.
The former Benfica player managed Casa Pia and Braga in his native homeland before making a real name for himself at Sporting CP.
Amorim’s success at Sporting CP earned him high praise after he led the Portuguese outfit to two Primeira Liga titles.
When he was taking his footsteps into the world of coaching, Amorim was studying for a master’s degree in high-performance football coaching at the University of Lisbon.
The United head coach landed a week-long internship as part of his studies and he made his arrival at Carrington in 2018 to learn under Jose Mourinho.
The Athletic reported in 2024 that the course Amorim was studying was ‘organised in partnership’ with former United manager Jose Mourinho.
Amorim was snapped in a photo alongside Mourinho in the manager’s office at Carrington and the ‘Special One’ has had a long-lasting impact on him.
Speaking to the Premier League’s official media, Amorim was asked how ‘special’ his interaction with the former Chelsea and Inter Milan boss was when he met him.
“It was special [his time with Mourinho],” he said, as per NBC Sports’ TikTok channel.
“Speaking about the way he engage[s] with the players, the experience in different clubs, winning titles, when you lose.”
Amorim was quizzed on whether he asked the 61-year-old Portuguese manager a ‘lot of questions’ and the United boss admitted that he still does it to this date.
“Yeah, all the time,” he replied.
“All the time. Even today.”
What Mourinho told Amorim about Man Utd
Amorim’s arrival at Old Trafford caught the eye of Jose Mourinho and the Fenerbahce boss told him that he was heading to a “lovely” club.
Speaking at his first United press conference last November, Amorim said: “He [Mourinho] sent me a message and told me that this is a lovely club, a big club, with lovely people – and that is correct.
“It still is. But a lot of things change and we are in a different building now; we are building a new one, and I am [a] different guy.
“I was learning at the time and I hope to now teach something here too, to my players.
“But the club is still big and is still the best club in England, and we want to win again, that is all.”
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