Ruben Amorim’s brutal hammerings are winning over Man Utd fans and media… but he’s playing a dangerous game with stars
Ruben Amorim’s brutal hammerings are winning over Man Utd fans and media… but he’s playing a dangerous game with stars
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AFTER the 3-1 home defeat by Brighton ten days ago, Ruben Amorim labelled his side “the worst team maybe in the history of Manchester United”. Having accidentally trashed a TV in the dressing room minutes earlier, he then told the assembled press pack: “I know you want headlines... here you go, your headlines.”.
![[Ruben Amorim, Manchester United's head coach, instructing Marcus Rashford.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/ruben-amorim-head-coach-manchester-958399378.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
At Craven Cottage on Sunday, Amorim decided to give us more headlines — and he upped the ante substantially. Criticising Marcus Rashford’s workrate in training would have provided a decent-enough soundbite. But by claiming he would rather select his 63-YEAR-OLD goalkeeping coach Jorge Vital than a player who didn’t show full commitment, Amorim conjured the most inflammatory managerial quote of the season.
![[Rueben Amorim, Manchester United head coach, at a press conference.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/rueben-amorim-head-coach-manchester-966121394.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Given that Vital last played a quarter of a century ago for the third-tier Portuguese club Esposende, we can assume Amorim wasn’t being literal and knew full well that he was creating another firestorm. United are England’s highest-profile club and Rashford — who hasn’t played since December 12 — is one of their biggest names. Yet here was his manager openly mocking him with a quote which bordered on cruelty.
![[Marcus Rashford of Manchester United walking off the pitch after a soccer match.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/marcus-rashford-manchester-united-walks-958534351.jpg?strip=all&w=850)
This is a high-risk strategy. It’s often said, and is largely true, that Sir Alex Ferguson didn’t publicly criticise his own players, although he did ruthlessly bomb out several of his best. Amorim’s predecessor Erik ten Hag binned Cristiano Ronaldo early in his reign, then froze out Jadon Sancho.
![[Marcus Rashford's Manchester United 2024-25 EPL stats.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/the-sun-22-23-transfer-auto-c0ddf4ee-0aa2-4b53-a5f1-b51eea53de8e.png?strip=all&w=960)
