‘Surprise and betrayal’ – Sporting players in ‘total astonishment’ after Rúben Amorim ‘opened door’ for Manchester United

Two days ago, Manchester United parted ways with Erik ten Hag and immediately started working on appointing Sporting manager Rúben Amorim as his replacement.

On Tuesday, the Lions revealed the Red Devils have confirmed their interest in the 39-year-old and their desire to pay his €10m release clause.

Later that day, Sporting sealed a 3-1 win over CD Nacional, and Amorim publicly stated he has a decision to make over joining Manchester United.

The manager also admitted “it’s part of life” when asked how his players reacted to the news of Manchester United’s interest. Wednesday’s edition of Record relays his quotes and then shares more information on the reaction from the Sporting players.

Their title reads ‘Surprise and betrayal’. Within the report, it’s claimed the Lions’ dressing room was in ‘total surprise, enormous astonishment’ when they found out the manager has ‘opened the door’ to move to England.

Amorim had opportunities to leave the Portuguese club in the past but decided to stay. He was happy with their project and said he’d continue at the club. Therefore, the Sporting dressing room are surprised with the latest developments.

The newspaper stated: ‘And that atmosphere was felt right from the morning talk given yesterday in Alcochete, with an awkward silence as the coach gave his final instructions for the match against Nacional.

‘Some of the players – as Record found out – felt betrayed, given they had closed the doors to the market early on in favour of a common project, and didn’t understand Amorim’s decision to now want to abandon them; and among this group, some even, we know, asked their captain [manager] for direct explanations, which led to more private conversations. There was also a lot of space for sadness, which came through the tears of those closest to the coach.’