Sporting Lisbon coach Ruben Amorim is playing it coy but looks increasingly likely to become Manchester United boss sooner rather than later.
The Portuguese predictably fielded a LOT of questions from journalists after Sporting’s 3-1 win over Nacional in the Portuguese League Cup quarterfinals.
On Tuesday night he said his future “hasn’t been decided yet” despite reports he has verbally agreed to a move to Old Trafford.
“Nobody knows if this was my farewell match, or if there will be a farewell match,” Amorim said.
Asked if he will be in the dugout at Old Trafford for Sunday’s game against Chelsea, Amorim said “I will be here”. But there went to say four very telling words.
When pressed he laughed and said: “I can’t promise anything.”
He went on to say: “I don’t know. What I know is that I will be at training tomorrow and I will prepare for the game against Estrela da Amadora.”
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Hours earlier, Sporting released a statement to the Lisbon Stock Exchange, saying it has told United that Amorim has a release clause worth 10 million euros ($10.8 million) in his contract.
The Portuguese champions said United “has shown interest” in paying that amount for Amorim.
United is looking to replace Erik ten Hag, who was fired on Monday with the team languishing in 14th place in the Premier League.
Ten Hag was the 20-time English champions’ fifth permanent manager since Alex Ferguson retired in 2013. United hasn’t won the league since Ferguson’s departure.
The 39-year-old Amorim has coached Sporting since 2020, leading the team to Portuguese league titles in 2021 and last season.
Sporting leads the league this season, too, having won all nine of its games, bolstering Amorim’s reputation as one of Europe’s most talented coaches.
“We have to wait a little bit more to explain everything I need to explain. It will be very clear,” he said.
He reportedly held talks with West Ham last season and was linked with replacing Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool before Arne Slot was hired.
Amorim is a former Portugal midfielder who spent the majority of his club career at Benfica.
His contract at Sporting expires in 2026.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was asked earlier Tuesday if he thought Amorim has what it takes to succeed in the Premier League.
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“All I can talk about is the experience of playing twice against Ruben’s Sporting Lisbon team (in the Champions League’s round of 16 in 2022), and the pressure was really, really good,” Guardiola said.
“I spoke with (current City player) Matheus Nunes, and he was his player, and he speaks highly about him. And look this season, he is unbeaten and winning all the games in the Portuguese league and (in) the Champions League, (they have) the same points as us. So a high manager. I have the feeling that Man United, what I hear, that they are thinking about him, it’s because he’s a good manager.”
Ten Hag’s assistant at United, Ruud van Nistelrooy, will take interim control of the team for Wednesday’s English League Cup match against Leicester at Old Trafford.