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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)
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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.

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Sports

White House: None More Deserving of FIFA Peace Prize Than Trump

FILE PHOTO: US President Donald Trump speaks during the signing ceremony for an executive order on mail ballots, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., March 31, 2026. REUTERS/Evan Vucci/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: US President Donald Trump speaks during the signing ceremony for an executive order on mail ballots, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., March 31, 2026. REUTERS/Evan Vucci/File Photo
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White House: None More Deserving of FIFA Peace Prize Than Trump

FILE PHOTO: US President Donald Trump speaks during the signing ceremony for an executive order on mail ballots, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., March 31, 2026. REUTERS/Evan Vucci/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: US President Donald Trump speaks during the signing ceremony for an executive order on mail ballots, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., March 31, 2026. REUTERS/Evan Vucci/File Photo

The White House has hit back at critics of Donald Trump being awarded the FIFA Peace Prize, saying there is none more deserving than the US president.

Global soccer governing body FIFA gave Trump the inaugural award at the World Cup draw in December for "promoting peace and unity around the world", triggering condemnation from human rights groups and activists in the lead-up to the World Cup.

Australian ⁠soccer player Jackson ⁠Irvine said this week that giving the award to Trump made a mockery of FIFA's Human Rights Policy, while Norway's soccer federation said FIFA should abolish the award.

The White House responded by saying ⁠Trump's "Peace through Strength foreign policy" had ended eight wars in less than a year.

"There is no one else in the world more deserving of FIFA’s first ever Peace Prize than President Trump. Anyone who thinks otherwise clearly suffers from a severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome," White House spokesman Davis Ingle said in a statement.

The US, which ⁠is co-hosting ⁠the World Cup with Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19, launched a military strike on Venezuela a month after the draw for the tournament was made and began joint airstrikes with Israel on Iran on February 28.

Trump frequently invokes his success at resolving international conflicts and has said on numerous occasions that he should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Sports

Sabalenka Stunned by Baptiste in Madrid Open Quarter-finals

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus reacts during her quarterfinals match against Hailey Baptiste of the USA at the Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Spain, 28 April 2026. EPA/JUANJO MARTIN
Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus reacts during her quarterfinals match against Hailey Baptiste of the USA at the Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Spain, 28 April 2026. EPA/JUANJO MARTIN
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Sabalenka Stunned by Baptiste in Madrid Open Quarter-finals

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus reacts during her quarterfinals match against Hailey Baptiste of the USA at the Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Spain, 28 April 2026. EPA/JUANJO MARTIN
Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus reacts during her quarterfinals match against Hailey Baptiste of the USA at the Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Spain, 28 April 2026. EPA/JUANJO MARTIN

World number one Aryna Sabalenka suffered a shock 2-6 6-2 7-6(6) defeat by Hailey Baptiste at the Madrid Open on Tuesday as the American produced the biggest win of her career after saving six match points to reach the semi-finals for the first time.

The 24-year-old Baptiste, seeded 30, claimed her first victory over a top-five player, handing ⁠defending champion Sabalenka ⁠only her second defeat of the season.

The 30th seed will now face world number nine Mirra Andreeva, after the Russian got past Canada's Leylah Fernandez 7-6(1) 6-3 in the quarter-finals ⁠earlier on Tuesday.

"Incredible. Super proud of myself," Reuters quoted Baptiste as saying. "It was a super tight match, 7-6 in the third. Had to fight off match points. I'm really happy right now.

"It just shows me where my game lies. I've always believed it. Now I'm starting to put it into action and the world ⁠is ⁠seeing it as well."

The defeat of top-seeded Belarusian Sabalenka is the latest upset at the WTA 1000 clay tournament that has seen the top seven seeds knocked out.

Baptiste is guaranteed to reach a career-high ranking of at least 24th after also reaching the Miami Open quarter-finals last month, where she lost to Sabalenka.

Sports

FIFA Enacts New World Cup Rule on Yellow Cards to Help Avoid Player Bans in Knockout Rounds

A replica World Cup soccer ball is seen during a press conference in the Staten Island borough of New York, New York, USA, 27 April 2026. EPA/SARAH YENESEL
A replica World Cup soccer ball is seen during a press conference in the Staten Island borough of New York, New York, USA, 27 April 2026. EPA/SARAH YENESEL
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FIFA Enacts New World Cup Rule on Yellow Cards to Help Avoid Player Bans in Knockout Rounds

A replica World Cup soccer ball is seen during a press conference in the Staten Island borough of New York, New York, USA, 27 April 2026. EPA/SARAH YENESEL
A replica World Cup soccer ball is seen during a press conference in the Staten Island borough of New York, New York, USA, 27 April 2026. EPA/SARAH YENESEL

FIFA has tweaked World Cup rules on yellow cards to ensure fewer players are suspended for key elimination games.

An extra amnesty for yellow cards — wiping player disciplinary records twice during the expanded tournament in North America — was proposed to a meeting Tuesday of FIFA’s ruling council. Later FIFA issued a statement confirming the change.

“Reflective of the expanded format with an extra knockout round, the FIFA Council confirmed an amendment to the regulations for the FIFA World Cup 2026 whereby single yellow cards in the final competition will be canceled after the group stage and then again after the quarterfinals,” it said.

At the World Cup, players must serve a one-game ban if they are shown a yellow card in two different games but single yellow cards were canceled at previous tournaments after the quarterfinals stage. That ensured no player would miss the final through suspension just because of getting a yellow card in the semifinal, The Associated Press reported.

The expanded 48-team World Cup format, with an extra round-of-32 knockout stage, led to a FIFA review aimed at helping keep players on the field.

FIFA cleared the disciplinary records of players who have one yellow card after the three-game group stage so they start the knockout phase afresh. A second amnesty after the quarterfinals will apply for players who got one yellow during the three previous knockout rounds and whose teams advanced to the semifinals.

FIFA also announced Tuesday an increase in financial resources to be distributed to all 48 World Cup participating teams by a further 15%, totaling $871 million, or just over $18 million per team. The new figures include an increase in preparation money from $1.5 million to $2.5 million per team and an increase in qualification money from $9 million to $10 million.

The World Cup will be played June 11 to July 19 in the United States, Canada and Mexico.