Ruben Amorim is the next manager of Manchester United, with the 39-year-old set to finally take the next step in his coaching career after being linked with some of the biggest jobs in Europe as a result of his impressive work at Sporting Lisbon.
The Portuguese is in line to replace Erik ten Hag with United signalling their intent to pay Sporting over his release fee. United’s football operations department placed Amorim at the top of their list and have convinced the 39-year-old to leave Sporting mid-season.
United will appoint a manager who has been one of the most in-demand coaches in Europe over the last year.
Liverpool, Barcelona, Juventus and Bayern Munich were all linked with him when appointing new managers over the summer, while Amorim has also been tipped as a potential replacement to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.
Amorim’s stock has risen considerably throughout his four-year tenure at Sporting. He broke the domestic dominance of rivals Benfica and Porto by ending the club’s 19-year title drought with a memorable Primeira Liga triumph in 2021, alongside a League Cup victory.
Yet all his rapid success as a coach follows a successful 14-year career as a player, too, in which he won 14 caps for his native Portugal.
Amorim, who hails from Lisbon, made his senior first-team debut in 2003 for Belenenses in the Portuguese first division before signing for Benfica in the summer of 2008.
It was at the Estadio da Luz where he spent the majority of his playing days, making 154 appearances across six seasons in which he fell in and out of favour with long-term boss Jorge Jesus, playing mainly in central midfield but also utilised at right-back.
