Rio Ferdinand believes that one key first-team Manchester United player’s “fortunes could change” after Ruben Amorim was finally sacked by the Premier League club.
Ruben Amorim was in charge of Manchester United for 14 months before Ineos and Sir Jim Ratcliffe dropped the axe on his Old Trafford reign on Monday morning.
Ruben Amorim’s BIGGEST MISTAKE at Manchester United was ________________
✍️ Fill in the blank…
The 40-year-old United manager was dismissed from his post and Darren Fletcher has been temporarily appointed as caretaker manager of the Red Devils.
United are sixth in the Premier League table and level on points with fifth-place Chelsea and three points behind fourth-place Liverpool at the time of Amorim’s exit.
However, the Red Devils claimed that they “reluctantly made the decision” to strip Amorim of his United duties and it was the “right time to make a change.”
Rio Ferdinand singles out Man Utd and England midfielder Kobbie Mainoo after Ruben Amorim is axed
Rio Ferdinand shifted his focus onto out-of-favour midfielder Kobbie Mainoo in the aftermath of Ruben Amorim’s exit as Manchester United manager on Monday.
Kobbie Mainoo lost his place in the United starting XI under Amorim and the 20-year-old Stockport-born talent had been linked with a potential January move away.
Speaking on his podcast, United legend Ferdinand believes that Mainoo has a “chance” to reclaim his place in the first-team squad in the post-Amorim era at the club.
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“But I look at it and you talk about the potential biggest winners and losers at the football club,” he said on Rio Ferdinand Presents.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that Kobbie Mainoo will be walking back in the building today with a bouncing step.
“He’ll be walking in because there’s [sic] always losers in this, which will be the manager and his staff who have worked hard.
“No-one likes to see people lose their jobs. But there are going to be winners.
“And Kobbie Mainoo will be one of the guys who will be sitting there going, he has a chance now to be a winner in this situation. His fortunes could change.”
Rio Ferdinand on what Kobbie Mainoo must be thinking after Darren Fletcher’s appointment as Man Utd caretaker manager
Kobbie Mainoo had not made a single start in his 11 Premier League appearances under former United manager Amorim in the 2025-26 campaign at Old Trafford.
The England international’s lack of playing time has Ferdinand believing that Mainoo is licking his lips at the prospect of seizing his “chance” at United again.
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“We have to remember he came home from the European Championships with England as one of our best performing players and hasn’t kicked a ball properly or consistently for the last 18 months since [then],” Ferdinand added.
“So, he’ll be sitting there going, this is my chance.
“And his conversations that he’s had previously, [as] we said on the live with Darren Fletcher, he’ll be looking back at those and going, ‘Have I got a chance?’”
Mainoo has missed the Red Devils’ last four matches due to a calf injury and has not played since United’s thrilling 4-4 draw against Bournemouth in December 2025.
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