The 39-year-old joins United on November 11 with a contract until 2027 and a club option for a further year once he has fulfilled his obligations to Sporting – a club he revived during his four-and-a-half years. responsible for half a year.

“Ruben is one of the most exciting and highly rated young coaches in European football,” United said in a statement.

“He is highly decorated as both a player and a coach, including winning the Primeira Liga in Portugal twice with Sporting CP; the first of which was the club’s first title in 19 years.”

“Ruud van Nistelrooy will continue to lead the team until Ruben joins.”

United, which by their standards have been in the doldrums since manager Alex Ferguson’s resignation in 2013, moved quickly to deal with Amorim after he sacked Dutchman Ten Hag on October 28 following another miserable start to the season.

The club agreed to pay 11 million euros ($11.96 million) to trigger a release clause in Amorim’s contract.

He will be United’s youngest manager since 31-year-old Wilf McGuinness succeeded Matt Busby in June 1969.

INTERIM MANAGER

He will take charge of three more games before Amorim arrives – including Sunday’s home league game against Chelsea – and has said he would like to stay at the club.

Amorim’s first United game after the international break will be a league game against newly promoted Ipswich Town on November 24th.

His first home game is on November 28th in the Europa League against Norwegian team Bodo/Glimt, followed by another Premier League game against Everton at Old Trafford next weekend.

Amorim, a former midfielder who played for Portugal, becomes United’s sixth permanent manager since their most successful manager Ferguson, who led the club to a record 13 league titles.

“The character and charisma compared to Erik ten Hag will make the big difference,” said former United and England defender turned pundit Rio Ferdinand.

“United needs someone with character and charisma to say, ‘You know what? I don’t care what happened here, I see a player in you.’ You need someone who will be like that.”

WANTED

Amorim, whose United team will be announced at a later date, was sought after by several top European clubs including Barcelona, ​​Juventus, Bayern Munich and Liverpool as they searched for new coaches in the close season.

He was hailed as a hero for Sporting’s revival after being appointed as the club’s third manager of the season in March 2020, a remarkable achievement given his age.

Amorim had just led Braga to League Cup success after two months as coach, recording ten wins in 13 games in all competitions, including their first away win in 65 years against Benfica, where he was a player for nine years.

Sporting came forward and signed him for 10 million euros. Amorim provided Sporting with the clear identity Sporting lacked and they ended their 19-year league title drought in a remarkable 2020/21 season in which they lost once and won the League Cup.

Last season they lost just two league games and finished 10 points ahead of second-placed Benfica.

Amorim played professionally for 14 years, mainly as a central midfielder, and made 14 appearances for Portugal. He made his senior first-team debut for Belenenses in the Portuguese first division in 2003 before moving to Benfica in 2008.

He retired in 2017 at the age of 32 after not playing for over a year due to torn knee ligaments and took management courses.

Amorim is no stranger to Old Trafford, having completed an internship with then United manager Jose Mourinho in 2018, describing the Portuguese coach as a “reference point” in his career.

He is very popular with the media due to his relaxed demeanor.

Amorim already has a fan at United in its captain, Portuguese midfielder Bruno Fernandes, who said this month: “Since Mr Amorim arrived at Sporting, it has been one of the teams playing the best football.”

“Sporting hasn’t won championships for 20 years, and Amorim has arrived and has already won two. This shows that the work was well done.”

($1 = 0.9206 euros)

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