Unusual start date, Van Nistelrooy message, Man City match - Inside Ruben Amorim to Man United

Ruben Amorim has been confirmed as the next permanent head coach of Manchester United, and is now set join from Sporting CP later this month.

Once the dust settled from Erik ten Hag's sacking, the 39-year-old quickly became the focus of the Premier League this week as English and Portuguese counterparts negotiated. While Man United may have wished to secure his services immediately, they cannot complain as they have got their number one target.

Signing a two-and-a-half-year contract through to 2027, he will remain at Sporting to oversee matches against Estrela, Manchester City and Braga before switching to Old Trafford during the international break.

READ MORE: Ruud van Nistelrooy explains what pleased him most about Man United's players vs Leicester

READ MORE: I did my coaching badges with Ruben Amorim - I am confident Man United have got the right man

Here, MEN Sport provides a whistle-stop tour of how events played out this week, leading to Amorim's appointment...

Erik ten Hag sacked

The events of this week would have not been made possible without the dismissal of Erik ten Hag. Ultimately a 2-1 defeat away to West Ham to leave the club sitting 14th in the Premier League gave the board no wriggle room, and they communicated their decision through the following statement.

"Erik ten Hag has left his role as Manchester United men's first-team manager. Erik was appointed in April 2022 and led the club to two domestic trophies, winning the Carabao Cup in 2023 and the FA Cup in 2024. We are grateful to Erik for everything he has done during his time with us and wish him well for the future."

At the same time Ruud van Nistelrooy, former Man United goalscorer and assistant to Ten Hag, was named interim manager for Wednesday night's Carabao Cup tie with Leicester City, and perhaps beyond.

Bookmakers react

As the betting markets opened almost instantly over who would be named Ten Hag's successor, Amorim found his name listed as second-favourite for the permanent position behind Van Nistelrooy.

The 39-year-old was described as having 'flirted' with a move to England for some time, given prior links to Liverpool, Manchester City and West Ham.

First agreement

No less than 12 hours after one manager walked out of the door, Man United had seemingly lined up another.

Monday night brought the news of an initial agreement between the club and Ruben Amorim to become the next permanent manager after Ten Hag. At this stage negotiations began between the club and Sporting CP over his €10m (£8.3m) compensatory fee.

Pundits have their say

Upon hearing that Amorim was inching closer towards an Old Trafford switch, plenty of names with affiliations to Man United began to give their two cents.

“Amorim is an interesting one. But, again, that is a risky one,” Paul Scholes discussed. "We all know the style of play. [Amorim] plays really good football. We’ve been talking about him for Man City. that obviously tells you something about his pedigree."

Peter Schmeichel added: "Ruben Amorim is a great candidate, I'm convinced about that. I'm also convinced he could replace Pep Guardiola."

Payment no problem

On Tuesday afternoon events advanced again. This time it was Sporting CP who made an announcement, explaining that Man United intend to pay the €10m required to sign Amorim.

"Manchester United has expressed an interest in hiring coach Ruben Amorim, with the board of directors of Sporting referring to the terms and conditions set out in the employment contract in force between the company and the coach," their statement read.

"Specifically the respective termination clause and the amount of €10million. Manchester United has expressed an interest in paying Sporting the amount of the aforementioned clause."

First words

"We don't know if it's a farewell game, or if there will be one; that's still not been decided," Amorim told reporters following his team's 3-1 win over Nacional on Tuesday night - a first opportunity he had to speak on Man United matters.

"In this moment, I have nothing to say and everything that I say will cause more noise. There's nothing concrete to say right now, but when I have to speak about the subject, I will. When I have something concrete to say and not just something that will fuel speculation, I will.

"We still don't know the finer details so we will see. Everything I say now will only fuel speculation so when I have something to say, I will say. I've always been clear about my decisions and the decision is mine as the statement stated."

"When I am sure of everything, everything will be easier because to say something now, is not the best action to take."

A crucial update

With two extra days to sit on the story, Amorim again sat in front of the media. Normally the focus would have been on his team's next match, but here it was all about him.

"It's a negotiation between two clubs, it's never easy. Even with the clauses, it's never easy, they have to talk, and we will have clarification after the game, it will be very clear. So it's one more day after the game tomorrow, we will have a decision made."

"I'll leave it until the end of the game, I'll talk about these issues and everything will be clearer. Talking now is just a destabilisation for the squad," he clarified.

Ruud message

The man occupying the Old Trafford hot seat on a temporary basis, Van Nistelrooy, finally addressed the club's succession plan during the critical hours of negotiations.

"I'm very motivated to stay here and help the club forward, that's my absolute goal," he selflessly said, though admitted he is in fact uncertain as to what the future holds under new management.

"We will see [if I stay under Amorim] but it's a contract situation I'm in and my desire to help the club forward. I can speak to you about my side of the story and after that when a new situation is occurring and when a new manager is signing and conversations take place, we have to see how things develop."

Asked if they had spoken, the Dutchman responded: "Is he already announced? So then, obviously I won't talk to somebody who's not announced, that's logical in my opinion. And again, what the future will bring, we’ll see."

The big announcement

And that brings events through to the here and now, on Friday November 1, as Amorim is appointed as the manager of Man United.

The Portuguese coach will arrive once the latest stint of the season is complete, taking his first training sessions during the international break before a first match in charge against Ipswich Town on November 24.

A club statement read: "Manchester United is delighted to announce the appointment of Ruben Amorim as Head Coach of the men’s first team, subject to work visa requirements.

"He will join until June 2027 with a club option of an additional year, once he has fulfilled his obligations to his current club. He will join Manchester United on Monday 11 November.

"Ruben is one of the most exciting and highly rated young coaches in European football. Highly decorated as both a player and coach, his titles include winning the Primeira Liga twice in Portugal with Sporting CP; the first of which was the club’s first title in 19 years.

"Ruud van Nistelrooy will continue to take charge of the team until Ruben joins."