Ex-Sporting director reveals Ruben Amorim problem facing Man United in the future

Sporting CP’s former sporting director has issued a warning to Manchester United over the “instability” caused by Ruben Amorim leaving in the future.

United confirmed Amorim as their new head coach on Friday, with the Sporting manager inking a deal which will keep him at Old Trafford until June 2027. The 39-year-old will take charge of the Red Devils on November 11, allowing him one more week to steady the ship with the Portuguese champions before making his Premier League debut in the dugout against Ipswich Town.

Amorim has two more games - a Champions League home tie against Manchester City and an away trip to Braga - before saying an emotional farewell. The two-time Primeira Liga-winning coach’s departure has certainly been tough for Sporting fans to swallow.

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While they have already readied a replacement in reserve coach Joao Pereira, former club chief André Geraldes claims his exit is causing instability and question marks with regards to the direction of the club. That is due to Sporting’s entire project being centred around the manager, with Amorim having been given “autonomy”, and a huge hole now taking form in his impending absence.

In an interview with O JOGO, Geraldes said: “Sporting's project was essentially centred on Rúben Amorim. Therefore, the departure of a coach with such autonomy represents a complex challenge for the club's management. Although it was the board's choice, it is clear that, having reached this point, such a decision would come with a cost.

“Amorim is loved not only internally, but also among fans and players. This impact, of course, is already generating instability. We are talking about someone who is a coach with a ‘house key’ to the club.

“The legacy that Rúben Amorim leaves, as I already had the opportunity to mention, is almost impossible to be equalled. The challenge is extremely complex and I see it as a process that will require time, more in the medium term than in the short term.

“It is natural that, at this stage, the players and the team still maintain much of Amorim's game system, but, over time, it is also normal that the new coach's ideas begin to consolidate. This is the challenge that Sporting will face with Amorim's departure, in a model in which everything was based on the coach.”

Geraldes’ words come as a warning for Old Trafford bosses and United fans alike. It presents the image of Amorim requiring full control when it comes to transfers and tactics.

The danger is that, if things do not work out for the promising Portuguese and he is sacked, United will be left with an even greater mish-mash of players on their wage bill for a system they will no longer play. The Old Trafford faithful know all too well about squandering hundreds of millions of pounds and failing to reap the rewards under the six managers who have succeeded Sir Alex Ferguson since 2013.

However, optimists will see Geraldes’ comment as a positive sign that Amorim will bring a clear identity to the club, which is exactly what it has lacked since Ferguson. Recently sacked boss Erik ten Hag failed to showcase any consistent type of philosophy in his two-and-a-half years at the helm - and Amorim may be just the man to get the Old Trafford faithful on their feet again.

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