Ruben Amorim’s spell as Manchester United head coach will not be remembered fondly.
Manchester United’s decision to sack Ruben Amorim at the start of 2026 put the beleaguered head coach out of his misery.
United have already moved on with Michael Carrick leading the team to a run of victories, exposing some of Amorim’s deficiencies in the process.
Amorim’s results were poor across his time at the club, and on many occasions his temperament and choice of words were called into question.
Below we look at 11 memorable quotes from Amorim that ended up defining his spell at Manchester United.
Should Manchester United have sacked Ruben Amorim earlier this season?
Could we really have been title contenders?
Prepare to suffer
“We are going to suffer for a long period. We will try to win games but this will take time.”
Ruben Amorim’s most famous quote was first uttered after his first game in charge, a drab 1-1 draw away at relegated Ipswich Town.
Amorim was warning the fanbase that asking his players to adapt to his system mid-season would not be easy, and there would be difficult moments along the way.
He was certainly right, but the problem was that the suffering never stopped. Amorim signed off with draws against relegation threatened Wolves and Leeds, showing that there had been little progress since his arrival.
Storm ahead
“We are going to have difficult moments and we will be found out in some games, I know that. I would like to say different things, but I have to say again, the storm will come.”
After his drawn opener, Ruben Amorim led United to wins over Bodo/Glimt and then Everton, the latter being a 4-0 win at Old Trafford.
Ahead of the next game away at Arsenal, Amorim set a gloomy tone, warning that a ‘storm’ was ready to test his side.
He was not wrong. United lost to Arsenal, then lost to Nottingham Forest, Tottenham, Bournemouth, Wolves and Newcastle, and that was just December 2025.
Goalkeeper coach > Marcus Rashford
“You can see on the bench we miss a bit of pace on the bench, but I would put [Manchester United goalkeeper coach Jorge] Vital before a player who doesn’t give the maximum every day.”
One of the big stories to emerge in Ruben Amorim’s first few weeks in charge was Marcus Rashford falling out of love with the club.
Rashford was dropped for several of United’s games, before being sent out on loan to Aston Villa.
Amorim criticised Rashford’s attitude, but came under fire for being disrespectful himself by saying he would rather name Jorge Vital on the bench than the former academy talent.
The ‘worst team’ admission
“We are being the worst team maybe in the history of Manchester United. I know you want headlines, but we have to acknowledge that to change it.”
Ruben Amorim sold himself to Manchester United fans as a clear and honest communicator, a contrast to Erik ten Hag’s often obtuse approach.
Amorim’s problem was that he was too honest at times. Speaking mid-season, Amorim described his United team as the ‘worst’ in history. That cannot have done a lot for team morale.
The offer to leave without compensation
“If the board and the fans feel I’m not the right guy, I will go in the next day without any conversation about compensation.”
Ruben Amorim lost to Tottenham three times in 2024/25, and the worst result was the Europa League Final. Winning the competition would have put a positive spin on the horrendous season, but United lost the game 1-0.
Speaking after the defeat in Bilbao, Ruben Amorim invited Ineos to fire him if they wanted to. He even offered to leave without a payout, words which ultimately proved to be hollow.
Hitting rock bottom
“It must be better, much better because it’s impossible to be worse.”
Ruben Amorim tried to put a positive spin on Manchester United’s woeful 2024/25, when he spoke after the team’s final Premier League game.
Amorim promised that it was impossible to get worse. We hoped that a few times during the season, and while he was thankfully correct, there was not enough improvement for him to complete the 2025/26 campaign.
Are you ANNOYED that Ruben Amorim never sent a message to the fans after being sacked?
Ruben Amorim is waiting until the end of the season to address his Man United sacking…
The post-Grimsby fallout
“Sometimes I hate my players and sometimes I love my players. Sometimes I want to quit, sometimes I want to be here for 20 years. I need to improve on that.”
The worst result of Ruben Amorim’s tortured spell at Manchester United was undoubtedly the Carabao Cup exit to Grimsby Town.
The Portuguese boss showed an unstable nature after the defeat, saying that he ‘hated’ his players at times and considered quitting.
He also flipped the other way by saying there were moments he wanted to stay in charge for two decades. Thankfully we did not get close to this.
Not even the Pope…
“No one. Not even the Pope will change… This is my job. This is my responsibility. This is my life. So, I will not change.”
Ruben Amorim arrived determined to stick to the same tactical plan that worked at Sporting, using his 3-4-2-1 formation.
Amid poor results in his opening month, Amorim was commended in some quarters for sticking to his guns and refusing to abandon his principles.
The following season the same discussion continued. Amorim said in September 2025 that not even the Pope would persuade him to change tactics.
Jason Wilcox gave it a go, and Amorim even made the change for one game on Boxing Day, which United won. But then he reverted to a three-man defence at home to Wolves, and United failed to win. It was the beginning of the end.
Is Ruben Amorim not playing Kobbie Mainoo the worst decision you can remember from a recent Man Utd manager?
On Kobbie Mainoo
“Sometimes it’s the opinion of a coach. I remember Vitinha. Vitinha was not playing for Wolverhampton Nowadays, you can see that he’s maybe the best midfielder in the world. So you never know! I need to go with what I’m feeling in the moment.”
Ruben Amorim’s most controversial decision across his time as Manchester United head coach was his omission of Kobbie Mainoo.
He turned to Mainoo as an 89th minute substitute in the Europa League Final, and then decided not to give him a Premier League start at all in 2025/26.
Amorim had concerns on Mainoo’s fit for his system, and then exacerbated the problem by changing Bruno Fernandes’ position to block his path.
The United head coach knew he could be proven wrong, citing PSG midfielder Vitinha as an example, pointing to his early career spell at Wolves.
Attack on youth players
“Amass is now struggling in the Championship. Chido is not always a starter in the Under-21s. All these guys played when a lot of people were saying sack the manager.”
Ruben Amorim began to really lose the faith of Manchester United fans when he hit out at his young players.
Amorim had grown irritated with questions about Kobbie Mainoo and his lack of trust in the academy.
Harry Amass and Chido Obi were caught in the crossfire, and it was a bad look.
The final press conference
“I just want to say I came here to be the manager, not to be the coach. In every department – the scouting department, the sporting director – [they] need to do their job. I will do mine for 18 months and then we move on.“
After 14 difficult months in charge, Ruben Amorim vented his frustrations after Manchester United’s 1-1 draw with Leeds.
There had been internal disputes over his formation and transfers, with Amorim falling out with technical director Jason Wilcox.
Amorim offered to cordially part ways at the end of his contract – but Ineos called his bluff and fired him 24 hours later.
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