Ruben Amorim drops Man Utd bombshell as new manager forced to make 'hard' Sporting exit
Ruben Amorim has signed a two-and-a-half-year deal with Manchester United, but in a staggeringly honest press conference, the 39-year-old boss admitted difficulty in leaving Sporting Lisbon
Ruben Amorim has revealed that he wanted to stay at Sporting Lisbon until the end of the season – but Manchester United told him it was now or never.
Amorim will join United on November 11 following two final matches with Sporting after the club released a confirmation statement on Friday afternoon. The 39-year-old has signed a deal until June 2027 and will be paid £6million per season after United agreed to pay £9.25m to buy him out of his Sporting contract.
His first game in charge of United will come against Ipswich on November 24, but it has now emerged that Amorim initially wanted to hold off much longer. United sent a delegation to Lisbon on Monday – the same day they sacked Erik ten Hag – to secure the services of their first-choice manager, but were met with some resistance.
Amorim had an emotional night on Friday, taking charge of Sporting against Estrela da Amadora at the Estadio Jose Alvalade. He was visibly moved after being given a standing ovation by the home fans and felt obliged to explain fully how the United move came about in his post-match press conference.
Amorim said: "I can't say much. It's a phase where people feel what they have to feel. I wanted to explain the situation. At the beginning of the season, and the chairman was there to confirm it, I had a conversation with him and [director of football Hugo] Viana, and I said that, whatever happened, it was my last season at Sporting.
“The season started and we started to have a very good season. United came along, paid the clause, above the clause, and the chairman defended his interests. I never discussed anything with the chairman. The only request I made was that it would be at the end of the season and they told me that wasn't possible, that it was now or never.
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“I had three days to decide on something that would completely change my life. It's not the first time that I've had my clause paid by another club. Nor the second. I wanted that club and that context. It's just like Sporting. It's very hard for me to leave. More for me than for any other Sporting fan.
“There was no confusion at all. We have to safeguard everyone's interests. Far from playing the victim, I had to, in this dead zone, the only person who is here is me. I said I would stay for as many games as necessary. I didn't say anything earlier because I couldn't. That's how the decision is.
“The club appeared that I knew that if I rejected it, I wouldn't have it in six months. And I knew that in six months I would know that I wouldn't be at Sporting.
"The only club that I wanted and that moved me. It got to a point where I had to decide and I did. Now I'm going home much more relaxed. I would have earned three times more with the last club that paid my clause. I gave everything I had for the club.”
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