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Amorim Says Future ‘Hasn’t Been Decided’ as Man United Shows Interest in Sporting Lisbon Coach

Sporting's coach Ruben Amorim attends a training session on the eve of their UEFA Champions League football match against SK Sturm Graz at the Cristiano Ronaldo Academy in Alcochete, outskirts of Lisbon, on September 21, 2024. (AFP)
Sporting's coach Ruben Amorim attends a training session on the eve of their UEFA Champions League football match against SK Sturm Graz at the Cristiano Ronaldo Academy in Alcochete, outskirts of Lisbon, on September 21, 2024. (AFP)
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Amorim Says Future ‘Hasn’t Been Decided’ as Man United Shows Interest in Sporting Lisbon Coach

Sporting's coach Ruben Amorim attends a training session on the eve of their UEFA Champions League football match against SK Sturm Graz at the Cristiano Ronaldo Academy in Alcochete, outskirts of Lisbon, on September 21, 2024. (AFP)
Sporting's coach Ruben Amorim attends a training session on the eve of their UEFA Champions League football match against SK Sturm Graz at the Cristiano Ronaldo Academy in Alcochete, outskirts of Lisbon, on September 21, 2024. (AFP)

Sporting Lisbon coach Ruben Amorim said Tuesday his future "hasn’t been decided yet" amid interest from Manchester United.

"Nobody knows if this was my farewell match, or if there will be a farewell match," Amorim said in quotes reported by Portugal’s sports daily A Bola after Sporting’s 3-1 win over Nacional in the Portuguese League Cup quarterfinals.

Hours earlier, Sporting released a statement to the Lisbon Stock Exchange, saying it has told United that Amorim has a release clause worth 10 million euros ($10.8 million) in his contract.

The Portuguese champions said United "has shown interest" in paying that amount for Amorim.

United is looking to replace Erik ten Hag, who was fired on Monday with the team languishing in 14th place in the Premier League.

Ten Hag was the 20-time English champions' fifth permanent manager since Alex Ferguson retired in 2013. United hasn't won the league since Ferguson's departure.

The 39-year-old Amorim has coached Sporting since 2020, leading the team to Portuguese league titles in 2021 and last season.

Sporting leads the league this season, too, having won all nine of its games, bolstering Amorim's reputation as one of Europe's most talented coaches.

"We have to wait a little bit more to explain everything I need to explain. It will be very clear," he said.

Amorim said he expects to still be in Lisbon on Sunday, when United hosts Chelsea in the Premier League, but when pressed he laughed and said: "I don't know."

He reportedly held talks with West Ham last season and was linked with replacing Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool before Arne Slot was hired.

Amorim is a former Portugal midfielder who spent the majority of his club career at Benfica.

His contract at Sporting expires in 2026.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was asked earlier Tuesday if he thought Amorim has what it takes to succeed in the Premier League.

"All I can talk about is the experience of playing twice against Ruben’s Sporting Lisbon team (in the Champions League's round of 16 in 2022), and the pressure was really, really good," Guardiola said.

"I spoke with (current City player) Matheus Nunes, and he was his player, and he speaks highly about him. And look this season, he is unbeaten and winning all the games in the Portuguese league and (in) the Champions League, (they have) the same points as us. So a high manager. I have the feeling that Man United, what I hear, that they are thinking about him, it’s because he’s a good manager."

Ten Hag's assistant at United, Ruud van Nistelrooy, will take interim control of the team for Wednesday's English League Cup match against Leicester at Old Trafford.

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The Statistics Which Show How Badly Manchester United Struggled under Erik Ten Hag

An aerial photograph taken by drone of Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, Britain, 28 October 2024. (EPA)
An aerial photograph taken by drone of Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, Britain, 28 October 2024. (EPA)
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The Statistics Which Show How Badly Manchester United Struggled under Erik Ten Hag

An aerial photograph taken by drone of Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, Britain, 28 October 2024. (EPA)
An aerial photograph taken by drone of Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, Britain, 28 October 2024. (EPA)

Manchester United, the record 20-time English champion, is searching for a sixth permanent manger since the retirement of Alex Ferguson in 2013 following the firing of Erik ten Hag.

Here are the statistics that show how low things got at United under Ten Hag — and what his successor will need to improve on:

Worst start

The break for international matches this month offered a chance to assess each Premier League team’s start to the season, and it didn’t make good reading for United. After seven games, United had collected eight points — its fewest in the Premier League era (since 1992) by that stage of a season and its lowest tally since the team had seven points from seven games in the 1989-90 season. Ten Hag’s team was in 14th place in the 20-team top division at that point. With a win and a loss since then, United remains in 14th — already 12 points off first-place Manchester City.

Worst finish

Last season, Ten Hag led United to its worst finish — eighth place — in the Premier League era. United had to go back to that 1989-90 season for a lower finish, and that was 13th place under Alex Ferguson in the year he reportedly came close to losing his job.

European failure

It didn’t get any better in Europe for Ten Hag. United finished in last place in its Champions League group last season even though it contained outsiders like FC Copenhagen and Galatasaray. United conceded 15 goals in that group, the most goals it has ever conceded in a single Champions League group stage. It was also a record for an English club. This season, United has drawn each of its three games in the revamped Europa League, against FC Twente, Porto and Fenerbahce — leaving the team in 21st place in the 36-team league, sandwiched between Viktoria Plzen and Elfsborg.

WHERE ARE THE GOALS?

“Attack, attack, attack” is the chant that has often been heard swirling around Old Trafford down the years, but goals were hard to come by under Ten Hag. With eight goals from its opening nine games, United is currently the third-lowest scorer in the Premier League, with only Crystal Palace and Southampton having fewer.

Last season, United was tied in ninth place in the list of top scorers in the Premier League with 57 goals. Since the start of the 2023-24 season, United has a goal difference of minus 4, having scored 65 goals and conceded 69.

Porous defense

United conceded 58 goals in the league last season — its most in the Premier League era — and there are more stats to highlight Ten Hag’s inability to bring defensive shape to his team. Since Ten Hag’s arrival midway through 2022, United conceded three goals in a game on 24 occasions — more than any manager since Ferguson’s retirement. According to Opta, the Premier League’s stats supplier, United has faced 1,739 shots in their 128 games under Erik ten Hag. Man City has faced 717 fewer shots despite playing six more games in that time.

Late goals

According to Opta, seven of Ten Hag’s 27 losses came via a winner in the 90th minute or later. The last of those came in what proved to be Ten Hag’s final game in charge, when Jarrod Bowen converted a penalty in second minute of stoppage time to earn West Ham a 2-1 victory.

Embarrassing loss

Ten Hag’s tenure got off to a dreadful start with back-to-back losses to Brighton and Brentford in the Premier League in the 2022-23 season. The 4-0 loss at Brentford was arguably the worst under Ten Hag until United arrived at Anfield for a match against its fiercest rival, Liverpool, last season. United lost 7-0 for its heaviest defeat to Liverpool and its worst competitive defeat in more than 90 years.