Manchester United to trigger Ruben Amorim’s £8.3m release clause

Sporting Lisbon have announced that Manchester United are willing to pay the €10 million (£8.3 million) release clause to make Ruben Amorim their new head coach.

The expectation is that a United delegation will now travel to Lisbon to close the deal. There had been speculation that Amorim might not even attend Tuesday night’s Portuguese cup quarter-final at home to Nacional, but he disembarked the Sporting team bus as it arrived at the Jose Alvalade Stadium.

As a public company, Sporting are obliged to disclose to the ­Portuguese stock exchange any information that has an impact on them as a business. On Tuesday ­afternoon they told the country’s financial regulator, the Securities Market Commission, that United wanted to hire Amorim.

In their statement the club referred to United being “ready to pay the €10 million (£8.3 million) release clause” in Amorim’s contract. United must pay this to allow negotiations to be finalised, with Sporting legally ­unable to retain their coach if the clause is met and he wants to go.

Speaking after his team’s 3-1 win over Nacional, when he was given a standing ovation by the Sporting fans, Amorim refused to confirm his intentions as he suggested he has not yet made a final decision. “Manchester United is interested,” he said. “But it’s my choice. Until everything is decided, we won’t be making any noise. It will always be my decision.

“I can’t promise anything. What I know is that I will be at training tomorrow and I will prepare for the game against Estrela Amadora [on Friday]. We have to wait a little bit more, to explain everything I need to explain. Then it will be very clear. It is my decision. I will tell everything.”

If Amorim does leave, Sporting are believed to already have a contingency plan to replace him with B-team coach Joao Pereira.

It will be interesting to see, however, who Amorim wants to bring with him as part of his backroom staff and what impact that has on United’s current team of coaches led by Ruud Van Nistelrooy, who has been put in interim charge. Sources in the Netherlands have already suggested the former United striker is expecting to leave.

As with other Portuguese coaches such as Jose Mourinho, who mentored Amorim at the start of his managerial career, and Marco Silva, Amorim likes to work with a trusted set of staff. His assistants, Carlos Fernandes and Adelio Candido, arrived at Sporting with him from Braga in 2020. Amorim is also thought to rate conditioning coach Paulo Barreira very highly.

Amorim emerged as United’s first choice after a series of talks in recent weeks, with formal negotiations beginning on Monday. There were also discussions with former Borussia Dortmund head coach Edin Terzic and Xavi Hernandez, the former Barcelona coach.

Amorim, who speaks fluent English, is one of Europe’s most sought-after young managers and has long been on United’s radar. The 39-year-old was even considered when they hired Ten Hag in 2022 and was discussed by ­Liverpool before they chose Arne Slot as Jurgen Klopp’s successor.

Despite United’s concerns over complying with the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules – and with Ten Hag’s payout costing £13.5 million – the compensation for Amorim is ­affordable.

Amorim is a highly confident coach who is known for his ability to make an immediate impact. He will also be reunited with Manuel Ugarte, the Uruguayan midfielder who played under him at Sporting.

The United players trained with Van Nistelrooy and assistant Rene Hake for the first time yesterday before facing Leicester City in the last 16 of the Carabao Cup at Old Trafford tonight.

It is understood that Manchester City do not intend to get involved in the pursuit of Amorim, giving United a clear run at the Portuguese.

The Sporting coach has been heavily linked with the City post amid doubts over Pep Guardiola’s future as manager since it emerged that the Portuguese club’s sporting director, Hugo Viana, will replace Txiki Begiristain as director of football at the Etihad Stadium next year. Viana has a close relationship with Amorim and got off the team bus with him last night.

City’s strong preference remains for Guardiola to extend his contract beyond the end of the season and he is considering signing a new 12-month deal, which would take his tenure to 10 years.

Guardiola, meanwhile, said Ten Hag would come back stronger after his sacking. The City manager, whose side face Amorim’s Sporting next month in the Champions League, said: “I’m so sorry for him, I have an incredible relation[ship] with him. He represented United in the highest level in terms of ­behaviour.”

Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso is regarded as a more likely candidate to replace Guardiola, should the Catalan leave.