Manchester United shockingly let go of their manager Ruben Amorim on Monday in a decision few saw coming. Former United striker Wayne Rooney, however, was one of them. After United’s draw with Leeds, Amorim had taken part in a press conference and made comments stating that he came to Manchester United as a manager with full authority and not merely a coach taking orders. And Rooney had predicted he might not last for 18 more months.
“I came here to be the manager of Manchester United, not to be the coach of Manchester United, and that is clear. “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. It’s going to be like this for 18 months or when the board decides to change,” Amorim said to reporters on Sunday.
“So that was my point. I want to finish with that. I’m not going to quit. I will do my job until another guy is coming here to replace me. I just want to say that I’m going to be the manager of this team, not just the coach. And I was really clear on that. And that is going to finish in 18 months and then everyone is going to move on. That was the deal. That is my job, not to be a coach,” he had added.
“I don’t think he should be speaking with that authority.” 😳
Wayne Rooney on Ruben Amorim’s comments after Man Utd’s 1-1 draw against Leeds 🗣️
Thoughts? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/S6yvu7dSEW
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) January 5, 2026
Reacting to those comments, Rooney said that Amorim won’t last long if he continued down that road, adding that he hadn’t earned the right to speak with that authority.
“I don’t think he’ll have 18 more months if it carries on, I think that’s fair to say. I think you need to earn the right to be able to dictate exactly what happens at a football club, especially a football club like Manchester United. If [Pep] Guardiola comes into United for instance, I don’t think anyone would question what players he wants to bring in, or the system. I feel for him (Amorim) a little bit because the squad is not good enough, the players he’s got on the bench are young academy kids – it’s great to see them on the bench, but are they ready at this moment in time? It’s very difficult to put young players onto a football pitch when the team is not very good, so I feel for him a little bit,” Rooney said on BBC.
“But he’s not Pep Guardiola or Jurgen Klopp – he hasn’t got that history or that background, so I don’t think he should be speaking with that authority in what he is and I just think the words he’s saying are very confusing to me,” he added.
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