As a fleet of reporters boarded flights to Lisbon hoping to get a few tasty lines from Ruben Amorim ahead of his switch to Manchester United, they will have been disappointed.
Because, as had already become apparent during the previous occasions in which the Sporting Lisbon boss had been linked with a move to the Premier League, trying to get headlines out of Ruben Amorim is like trying to squeeze blood out of a stone.
In the aftermath of Sporting’s 3-1 victory over Nacional on Tuesday night, Amorim was about as non-committal as possible as those Manchester United posers rained down upon him.
Sporting confirmed that United had decided to trigger Amorim’s release clause earlier in the day. But the man himself was in no mood to give anything away until the time arrives that he is posing for photographs in front of the Stretford End.
And, as the two-time Portuguese champion walked out to face the media again two days later, Erik ten Hag’s soon-to-be successor was his usual coy self once again.
Manchester United-bound Ruben Amorim opens up on Premier League feelings
Amorim was asked about the Red Devils’ first performance of the post-Ten Hag era. Ruud van Nistelrooy masterminded Man United’s 5-2 hammering of Leicester City in the EFL Cup.
Amorim, however, tuned in to watch next week’s Champions League opponents Man City lose 2-1 at Tottenham instead. All the while, stepping up his preparations for Friday’s Primeira Liga clash with Estrela da Amadora.
“Yesterday, I watched Estrela da Amadora and I saw Manchester City,” Amorim says, albeit while admitting there was only so much he could learn from a much-changed City team chock-full of little-known teenagers.
“[Pep Guardiola made] some changes, which didn’t allow me to watch everything I wanted for the Champions League game!”
There was, however, one line that may have got ears sticking up on end amongst Manchester United fanbase waiting with baited breath in the hope that Amorim would go public with football’s worst-kept secret.
When asked if there was anything he liked about the English Premier League – the competition that will be Amorim’s home hopefully for the next three years and beyond – the 39-year-old responded with; ‘Everything’.
That was as detailed as Amorim was willing to go.
But at least the Red Devils supporters now have some idea about how the man destined to become the youngest manager in Manchester United’s history feels about England’s top-flight.
Diogo Dalot opens up on Amorim arrival and Erik ten Hag exit
Amorim’s compatriots Diogo Dalot and Bruno Fernandes helped begin the post-Ten Hag era in style, meanwhile, as Leicester were swatted aside in a performance of seldom-seen fluidity and ruthlessness.
Fernandes scored twice – finally opening his account for 2024/25 – while Dalot set up Alejandro Garnacho’s sixth of the season as Manchester United scored four goals in the opening 45 minutes for the first time since the Ole Gunnar Solskjaer era.
Portuguese-speaker and Brazil great Casemiro scored twice in an ‘unbelievable’ showing from the Man United veteran, meanwhile.
“It is [sad], and we felt it the day afterwards,” Dalot told reporters after United set up a quarter-final clash with Tottenham in North London. “[Ten Hag] was man that breathes football 100 per cent. This is what he loves the most.
“But this is football. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. We just wish him all the best, thank him for everything he did for us. He helped me a lot. He helped me bring through at this club and gave me all the confidence that I needed to show I can play for this club.
“And we won trophies together. We keep good memories.
“Obviously [Amorim] is a good manager!” Dalot adds.
“We don’t know if he is coming or not. We see the rumours, like everybody, but we will just focus on doing our job. What the future brings, we will be ready.”
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