Ruben Amorim Sacked: Red Devils’ Decision Highlights Huge Power Shift for Football ‘Managers’ | OneFootball

Manchester United have parted ways with Ruben Amorim – but it wasn’t the dastardly results that did it.

Ruben Amorim, the promised man who would ‘bring the glory days again’, according to Manchester United fans, has been relieved of his duties after 14 months in charge.

Amorim is the third Premier League manager to be sacked this season for speaking out against their higher-ups – in a sparking trend that shows how football is changing – managers are no longer in control…

Amor-out

Wedded to his three-back defensive formation with wing-backs since his arrival at Manchester United, Amorim told journalists repeatedly that he would not change.

But the Red Devils head coach changed to a four-at-the-back system on Boxing Day, in a win against Newcastle where the team impressed, but has since reverted to a back three in games thereafter.

This came after rumours that director of football Jason Wilcox, who was never fully onboard with the Amorim appointment, was pushing for change behind the scenes.

And Amorim, feeling that pressure, dealt the words that killed his tenure in minutes, after a 1-1 draw at Elland Road:

“I know that my name is not [Thomas] Tuchel, it’s not [Antonio] Conte, it’s not [Jose] Mourinho, but I’m the manager of Manchester United.

“And it’s going to be like this for 18 months or when the board decides to change.

“I’m not going to quit. I will do my job until another guy is coming here to replace me.”

For Ruben Amorim, whose job title specifically stated ‘Head Coach’, – that time is now.

Changing of the guard

Football is changing.

Gone are the days of a sole figure being the most important at a football club.

Sir Alex Ferguson could have made these comments, and would be sat in Carrington today.

This departure of Amorim is not surprising – already this season we have seen managers question the club’s hierarchy and being sacked afterwards.

Nuno Espirito Santo, despite Nottingham Forest spending over £180m on incomings in the 2025 summer transfer window, felt disappointed with his relationship with the club’s board.

Despite the club reaching the Europa League in a marauding season before, prior to Nottingham Forest’s first game of the season, Nuno was critical of the senior figures overseeing Forest’s transfer strategy, saying his squad was “unbalanced” and “very, very far” from being ready.

Then, ahead of Forest’s next match, Nuno reiterated this, in saying that his relationship with owner Marinakis had deteriorated since the arrival of Edu as Marinakis’ head of global football.

When asked about the security of his job at the time, Nuno said:

“There is no smoke without fire. I always had a very good relationship with the owner – last season we were very close and spoke on a daily basis. This season it is not so well. Our relationship has changed and we are not as close. Everybody at the club should be together but this is not the reality. I said it, and I don’t regret it. For me, it’s important that everyone at the club shares the same vision and same commitment.”

After just three Premier League games in 2025/26, Nuno Espirito Santo was sacked by Nottingham Forest.

And just days before the departure of Amorim at Manchester United, Chelsea also sacked their boss – Enzo Maresca, who unlike the Portuguese head coach, was doing a decent job.

Maresca made inflammatory comments, stunning members of his own staff when – after beating Everton 2-0, the Italian said “many people” had made it his “worst 48 hours” since joining the club.

The relationship between the owners and manager, that was already waning, had become irreparable.

A Growing Trend

Three managers being sacked in one season, two successful, one not, but all for the same reason – for speaking out about their frustrations.

Football is moving in a new direction, where football club boards hold the most authority.

Only the best in world football can go against this power – if you are not, the ending will be just like Ruben Amorim’s.