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There are varying reports on how much the decision to sack Amorim will cost the Red Devils, but Sky Sports put the figure at £12m.
Amorim was also not cheap to hire, with Manchester United paying his release clause in his Sporting contract in 2024, which was worth 11m euros (£9.25m).
There have been a number of expensive mistakes in recent times at Old Trafford, with the club spending £14.5million to get rid of Amorim’s predecessor Erik ten Hag, his staff and sporting director Dan Ashworth in 2024.
When Manchester United last searched for a first team manager, in October 2024, Gareth Southgate was among the names being linked to Old Trafford.
Speaking at the time, Southgate said he would not return to a coaching role for at least a year after leaving the England job.
Those 12 months are now up.
It was reported that Southgate was then-sporting director Dan Ashworth’s preferred choice to succeed Erik ten Hag – but Ashworth was gone by December.
Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna, a former coach at Manchester United, former Barcelona boss Xavi, ex-Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane, and Marseille coach Roberto de Zerbi were all among the possible contenders then – and remain among the club’s options.
Enzo Maresca had been appointed at Chelsea just four months earlier and was not a realistic candidate in late 2024.
Maresca has links to United director of football Jason Wilcox and chief executive Omar Berrada, having worked with the pair at Manchester City.
Manchester United sacked manager Ruben Amorim after 14 months in charge.
Manchester United said in a statement the decision has been made “reluctantly” and “it is the right time to make a change”.
The team are currently sixth in the Premier League table. Sources have told BBC Sport that the club felt there had not been sufficient evidence of evolution or progress this season under Amorim.
On Sunday, Amorim hinted he was not happy with the level of interference from the Manchester United board.
This was after Amorim had reportedly had a particularly negative meeting with director of football Jason Wilcox on Friday
United now hope to appoint a caretaker manager until the end of the season but appointing a new permanent boss in the summer.
