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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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Champions League Makes January Debut with High-stakes Clash of PSG and Man City

PSG's Fabian Ruiz, right, celebrates with his teammates after he scored his side's first goal during the French League One soccer match between Lens and Paris Saint-Germain, at the Bollaert-Delelis stadium in Lens, France, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
PSG's Fabian Ruiz, right, celebrates with his teammates after he scored his side's first goal during the French League One soccer match between Lens and Paris Saint-Germain, at the Bollaert-Delelis stadium in Lens, France, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
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Champions League Makes January Debut with High-stakes Clash of PSG and Man City

PSG's Fabian Ruiz, right, celebrates with his teammates after he scored his side's first goal during the French League One soccer match between Lens and Paris Saint-Germain, at the Bollaert-Delelis stadium in Lens, France, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
PSG's Fabian Ruiz, right, celebrates with his teammates after he scored his side's first goal during the French League One soccer match between Lens and Paris Saint-Germain, at the Bollaert-Delelis stadium in Lens, France, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

The first Champions League games to be played in January include one with shocking possible consequences in an unpredictable debut season for the 36-team format.
Paris Saint-Germain vs. Manchester City on Wednesday is a clash of super-wealthy state-backed teams currently a barely believable 25th and 22nd in the standings, The Associated Press reported.
If the 2020 beaten finalist and 2023 champion play to a draw at Parc des Princes, both could start the 18-game final round on Jan. 29 outside the top-24 places that qualify for the knockout stage.
The new format that replaced the traditional groups — now with eight games instead of six, facing eight different opponents, and two in January — is unknown territory even for UEFA, whose preseason prediction that eight points should ensure advancing likely will fall short.
However, few imagined what would play out in the first six rounds.
Man City and PSG have struggled, Real Madrid has lost half its games in 20th place despite adding Kylian Mbappé to a title-winning team, and lowest-ranked debutant Brest has cruised to four wins and seventh in the standings, just ahead of Lille.
“It would have been impossible to list these eight clubs as being in the top eight positions,” Giorgio Marchetti, the UEFA deputy general secretary, told The Associated Press in a recent interview. “There is a lot of new fresh air.”
“I think the format has an impact,” Marchetti said, pointing to comments by Inter Milan coach Simone Inzaghi that it is more difficult to prepare for eight different opponents instead of three. “It is more of a challenge.”
Which positions are teams playing for? The top eight in the standings on Jan. 29 advance directly to the round of 16 that starts in March. They will likely include current leader Liverpool and second-place Barcelona which are the only two teams already certain to finish in the top 24. Liverpool is the only team to win all six games.
Teams placed from ninth to 24th go into the new knockout playoffs round. Nos. 9-16 will be seeded in the draw on Jan. 31 and will play the second leg at home. Teams placing 17 to 24 host the first legs.
Nos. 25-36 in the standings are eliminated and do not transfer to the Europa League. Already out are Leipzig, Slovan Bratislava and Young Boys which each lost all six games.
Tuesday games Liverpool hosts Lille and Barcelona is at 15th-place Benfica. Atletico Madrid in 11th place can rise above visiting Bayer Leverkusen, which is in fourth place with just one point more.
Aston Villa, the 1982 European Cup winner, can qualify for the round of 16 with a win at 16th-place Monaco.
Stuttgart, in 26th place, is favored to win at Slovan and move to 10 points, which would put pressure on PSG and Man City.
Wednesday games Real Madrid hosts struggling Salzburg, and third-place Arsenal can secure its round of 16 entry — and do Man City a favor — by winning at home against 24th-place Dinamo Zagreb.
Sixth-place Inter Milan goes to Sparta Prague, and Bayern Munich, in a surprising 10th place with 12 points, travels to Feyenoord which is 18th with 10 points.
Brest goes to Schalke’s stadium in neutral Germany to face Shakhtar Donetsk, which has four points and likely must win to stay in contention.
Why is the Champions League playing in January? For the money, mostly. The most influential clubs wanted a bigger and more lucrative Champions League and got two extra midweek matches for all. The congested calendar for soccer left few options.
Historically, European club competitions took a midwinter break until March. Then February was occupied in 2001 by the Champions League when a new format with a second group stage started. February stayed on the calendar when the round of 16 started in 2004, and for the next two decades.
So when UEFA decided in 2022 on this eight-game league phase, January was needed even though some leagues in Nordic countries do not start until March, and others are still on midwinter breaks.
Austrian champion Sturm Graz, which plays at Atalanta on Tuesday, has not played a domestic game since Dec. 7 and will not resume until Feb. 1.