Ruben Amorim has revealed he wants to be Manchester United head coach for the next 20 years.
The Portuguese boss is about to take charge of his first full campaign at Old Trafford – his first half-season saw him guide the club to 15th place and defeat in the Europa League final.
Performances in pre-season have left Amorim hopeful that United are a “completely different side” to last term, and the 40-year-old is now backing himself to have a Sir Alex Ferguson-style tenure at United.
Speaking before United’s Premier League Summer Series match with Everton, live on Sky Sports on Sunday night, Amorim said of his long-term plans at the club: “Yeah, I want to stay. I want to stay 20 (years). That is my goal and I truly believe in that. Always do.
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“Something will happen. In some moments I will be lucky. I had a lot of luck during my career as a manager and my idea is to stay for many years.
“But again we know that the results will dictate that. I know that last season I used (up) all the credits but I’m ready to start fresh.
“I want to be manager of Manchester United for a while. And I took five years to choose this club so I don’t want to fail.”
Asked about his chances of success at United, Amorim replied: “If you look, Sporting was the same thing. They said that in three months I’m out.
“They said that I had three per cent (chance) of winning one title with Sporting. It was the same thing.”
‘I turned up to games knowing we would struggle’
Amorim has revealed that the biggest disappointment of last season was turning up to games knowing his side could not be competitive.
On Sky Sports News’ Transfer Show, former Manchester United captain Ashley Young speaks about the current situation at the club and says Ruben Amorim can be given no more excuses going into the 2025/26 season.
Fourteen of In his 27 Premier League games in charge have ended in defeat, while he also lost five out of his first seven matches at Old Trafford.
He said: “To tell you the truth, it’s not how I returned to my house after the games but how I left to go to the games. All the struggles that we had in the games, I feel it before the games.
“So that is the hardest part. To go to the games and know that we are not going to be competitive. When I returned, I just looked to my family and tried to think about different things. But I was really frustrated.”
Antony, Sancho and more – Amorim on transfer exits
Speaking earlier this summer, Ruben Amorim says the likes of Antony, Alejandro Garnacho, and Jadon Sancho will remain at the club unless their transfer value is met. The Man Utd manager went on to say that he would be happy to reintegrate them into t
Amorim also addressed United’s transfer situation this summer – with a focus on outgoings at the moment.
United have already let Marcus Rashford leave to join Barcelona but the futures of Antony, Alejandro Garnacho, Tyrell Malacia and Jadon Sancho are still up in the air.
United have not taken the quartet on their Premier League Summer Series tour squad and gave them more time away from the club during pre-season to find themselves new clubs.
“We just need to follow the markets,” said Amorim about those four players. “So the market is open. There are players that clearly show they don’t want to be here and that is normal. They are not bad and I’m good. I’m not bad and they are good.
“It’s a simple situation that they want new challenges. So we will try to use this space to prepare the team that I think is going to be here.
“If the market closes and then they are Manchester United players, we as a club have to treat them in the same conditions. But in this moment I’m just working with the players that I think are going to stay and the other guys are trying to find a solution for their careers.”
Amorim: Talented Garnacho has not worked out
Alejandro Garnacho is free to leave the club
Amorim was also asked specifically about Garnacho – who has been linked with a move to Chelsea and Aston Villa.
The United boss believes the academy product is still a talented player but says things have not worked out for the 21-year-old at Old Trafford.
“You can understand and you can see he’s a really talented boy and sometimes things don’t work out,” said Amorim. “You cannot explain specifically what it is.
“But I have the feeling, I think it’s clear that Garnacho wants a different thing with a different leadership and I can understand that. So I think it’s not a problem.
“Sometimes you adapt to one guy, you have the connection. Other times, you want a new challenge so we try to make everything okay to all the parts. To the club, to the coach and to the players. It’s a natural thing in football.”
Amorim also revealed the sales this summer are important because he wants a smaller squad this season – given United are not in European competition so will only fight on three fronts.
“I’m really happy with the team,” said Amorim. “Without European competitions, I want a small squad so everyone feels really important.
“If you have a lot of players, you have one week to prepare and a lot of players are going to be out, and then in training they will be frustrated and then the quality of the training will drop.”
Sky Sports to show 215 live PL games from next season
From next season, Sky Sports’ Premier League coverage will increase from 128 matches to at least 215 games exclusively live.
And 80 per cent of all televised Premier League games next season are on Sky Sports.
