Leeds United aimed a cheeky dig at bitter rivals Manchester United after Ruben Amorim’s sacking on Monday, which came following a draw at Elland Road just hours before
Leeds United aimed a cheeky dig at rivals Manchester United following Ruben Amorim’s sacking.
The Portuguese boss was dismissed from his Old Trafford position after 14 months in the job after a breakdown in relations with the United hierarchy. Amorim’s last outing in the dugout came in a disappointing 1-1 draw at Elland Road on Sunday, when his flops held on for a point against the promoted side, leaving them sixth in the Premier League.
Amorim, 40, launched a post-match rant at the United board, including director of football Jason Wilcox. Reports have suggested that Wilcox and Amorim clashed over aspects of his coaching and tactics as well as Amorim being frustrated with the power in his position, after taking over in late 2024 and leading the club to 15th – their worst ever Premier League season.
Former Leeds winger Wilcox was present at Elland Road for the score draw and the Whites have not forgotten him as they dedicated their Goal of the Day on X to his strike from a free-kick against Newcastle in a 2-2 draw at St James’ Park in March 2000, hours after he was among the figures to pull the trigger on Amorim.
Fans lapped up the not-so-subtle dig in the comments section, with one saying: “The most under appreciated tweet I’ve seen in a long time. Great work by the Leeds admin.”
A second added: “People don’t realize how funny this is.” Another commented: “I see what you’re doing here. Fair play.” While a United fan moped: “Hope you get relegated.”
Tensions were ramped up after the draw at Elland Road when Amorim launched a bizarre rant saying he considered himself the “manager” of United rather than the “head coach.”
He fumed: “I just want to say that I came here to be the manager of Manchester United – not the head coach.
“That’s going to finish in 18 months, and then everyone is going to move on. That’s the deal, that’s my job.
“I know my name is not (Thomas) Tuchel, is not (Antonio) Conte and is not (Jose) Mourinho. But I am the manager of Manchester United and it is going to be like this for 18 months, or (until) when the board decides to change.”
He added: “It’s going to be like this until the board decide to change. I’m not going to quit. I will do my job until another guy comes to replace me.
“If people cannot handle the Gary Nevilles and the critics of everything, we need to change the club. I just want to say that. I came here to be the manager of Manchester United, not to be the coach.
“And every department, the scouting department, the sporting director, needs to do their job. I will do mine for 18 months and then we will watch.”
United have appointed U18 coach Darren Fletcher in interim charge while Wilcox and Co continue discussions regarding who the new Old Trafford caretaker or permanent manager will be.