The Worst Man United Team in History? Here’s a Look at the Numbers Following Amorim’s Big Claim

Football - Premier League - Manchester United v Brighton & Hove Albion - Old Trafford, Manchester, Britain - January 19, 2025 Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim looks dejected after the match. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Manchester United v Brighton & Hove Albion - Old Trafford, Manchester, Britain - January 19, 2025 Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim looks dejected after the match. (Reuters)
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The Worst Man United Team in History? Here’s a Look at the Numbers Following Amorim’s Big Claim

Football - Premier League - Manchester United v Brighton & Hove Albion - Old Trafford, Manchester, Britain - January 19, 2025 Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim looks dejected after the match. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Manchester United v Brighton & Hove Albion - Old Trafford, Manchester, Britain - January 19, 2025 Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim looks dejected after the match. (Reuters)

It has never been this bad at Manchester United.

Well, that’s the opinion of the club’s latest manager, anyway, with Ruben Amorim saying Sunday about his underperforming team: "We are being the worst, maybe, in the history of Manchester United."

It’s quite the claim.

After all, United is a record 20-time English champion, and one of the biggest sports teams and brands in the world.

Here’s a look at some of the numbers that illustrate the slump United is in after a 3-1 loss to Brighton:

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13th Current position of United in the 20-team Premier League after 22 of 38 games. With 26 points, United is closer to the relegation zone than the European qualification places and on course for its lowest finish in the Premier League era (since 1992), which is eighth last year.

24 Number of points United is behind Premier League leader Liverpool, its great rival.

1893-94 The last time United had worse home form than this season, according to Premier League statistician Opta. The team has six losses from its first 12 league games at Old Trafford.

14 The number of years the club has spent outside England’s top division since changing its name to Manchester United from Newton Heath in 1902. In those nearly 123 years, United has never played below the second tier. The longest period out of the top flight was five straight years in the 1930s.

1974 The last time United was relegated from the first division of English soccer. The team won promotion the following season and has been in the top flight ever since.

7 The number of losses in 15 games under Amorim since he took charge in November to replace Erik ten Hag.

20 Number of times United finished in the top two in the 26 full seasons under manager Alex Ferguson (1986-2013)

2 Number of times United has finished in the top two in the 11 full seasons since Alex Ferguson retired in 2013. On both occasions, United was in second place.

10th Amorim is the 10th manager — either permanent or interim — appointed by United since Ferguson’s retirement.

$6.55 billion The estimated worth of Man United, according to Forbes. That places the club in 14th place in Forbes’ list of the world’s most valuable sports teams in its most recent ranking.



Sinner and Swiatek Win ITF World Champion Awards 

Iga Swiatek of Poland waves after defeating Eva Lys of Germany in their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP)
Iga Swiatek of Poland waves after defeating Eva Lys of Germany in their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP)
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Sinner and Swiatek Win ITF World Champion Awards 

Iga Swiatek of Poland waves after defeating Eva Lys of Germany in their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP)
Iga Swiatek of Poland waves after defeating Eva Lys of Germany in their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP)

Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek have won the International Tennis Federation’s 2024 world champion awards.

Swiatek edged out Aryna Sabalenka for the women’s singles award in the list announced by the ITF on Monday.

Swiatek won the French Open plus four WTA 1000 titles, an Olympic bronze medal at the Paris Games and also helped Poland to the Billie Jean King Cup semifinals. Sabalenka won the Australian and US Open crowns and finished the year ranked No. 1.

Sinner is the first Italian to win the award. He finished 2024 at No. 1 with a 73-6 win-loss record after winning the Australian and US Open titles, the ATP Finals and leading Italy’s successful defense of the Davis Cup crown.

Sinner and Swiatek were both subject to doping cases last year, which has overshadowed their participation at the Australian Open this month.

The ITF said the world champion awards were selected based on “objective criteria” considering all results but with a special emphasis on Grand Slams, the World Cup of Tennis competitions and the Olympic and Paralympic events.

“Last year was a memorable year for our sport with the staging of the Olympic and Paralympic Games alongside our traditional team events,” ITF President David Haggerty said. “And we see with several of our award winners that representing their country inspired them to even greater achievements in 2024.”