Ruben Amorim is under increasing pressure at Manchester United after a poor start to the season and there have been a number of rumours about his future
Bruna Reis and Neil Docking
14:03, 16 Sep 2025
Ruben Amorim
Ruben Amorim's Manchester United future is under scrutiny
Defeat in the Manchester derby has heaped huge pressure on Ruben Amorim at Manchester United.
United have secured just one victory from their opening four Premier League fixtures this season and currently find themselves languishing in 14th place, merely one point above the relegation zone, having been dumped out of the Carabao Cup by fourth-tier outfit Grimsby Town in one of the biggest humiliations in the club's history.
Their abject displays, including the 3-0 loss to bitter rivals Manchester City, have faced mounting scrutiny from critics. And next up is a meeting with high-flying Chelsea at OId Trafford. Barely a month into the campaign, the Red Devils are already feeling the heat to reverse their fortunes, with reports emerging about Amorim's players losing confidence in him and new job opportunities for the coach.
Here's all the latest speculation surrounding the under-fire Portuguese manager.
What Amorim has said
Manchester United Manager Ruben Amorim puts his hand to his face
Manchester United Manager Ruben Amorim is under pressure at Man Utd(Image: CameraSport via Getty Images)
After the loss to local rivals City, Amorim remained defiant about maintaining his tactical approach, reports the Manchester Evening News. The 40-year-old said: "It's not a record that you should have in Manchester United.
"There are a lot of things that you have no idea what happened during these months, but I accept that. But I'm not going to change. When I want to change my philosophy, I will change.
"If not, you have to change the man. So, we'll talk about that every game, every game that we lose. 'I don't believe in that, in the system', or whatever. So, I play my way and I'm going to play my way until I want to change."
Amorim continued: "My message is that I'm going to give everything. I will do everything, always thinking about what is best for the club. That was always the same message. And then, it's not my decision, the rest. So, until I'm here, I will do my best. I really want to win games, so I'm suffering more than them."
Amorim 'eyed' by Portuguese heavyweights
Nuno Gomes
Nuno Gomes is a close friend of Ruben Amorim and is in line to become Benfica vice-president
Back in Portugal, Amorim is hailed as one of football's finest tacticians, having transformed Sporting Clube de Portugal's fortunes in Europe and broken their nearly two-decade Liga Portugal title curse before taking over from Erik ten Hag at United.
Now, Sporting's bitter rivals Benfica are said to be monitoring his predicament at Old Trafford closely. Benfica are preparing for presidential elections next month, with candidate Joao Noronha Lopes allegedly already fancying Amorim as a potential managerial target.
Portuguese publication A Bola suggests that Lopes and former Portugal striker Nuno Gomes, who is campaigning for the vice-president role, attended the Etihad Stadium with this in mind.
The newspaper reports Gomes was questioned during his campaign trail in Evora about whether Amorim could become Benfica's next boss, and he's said to have hinted that such a move was feasible.
A Bola also reveals that Noronha Lopes has confirmed having a contract prepared for Manchester City's Bernardo Silva as part of his bid to lure him back to Estadio da Luz.
Speculation addressed
Ruben Amorim before Manchester United's defeat against Manchester City
Ruben Amorim before Manchester United's defeat against Manchester City(Image: Getty Images)
Following their return to Lisbon, Noronha Lopes and Gomes faced questions about the swirling speculation. Noronha Lopes clarified: "We went to Manchester to watch the derby, and when we are together, we take the time to have meetings and prepare the future of Benfica.
"We didn't meet up with Bernardo Silva or Ruben Amorim after the game. I want to bring to Benfica a winning culture, which has talent, dedication and people who know how to win."
When pressed about whether he'd like to see Amorim managing Benfica soon, Noronha Lopes responded: "Ruben is under contract with Manchester United and I won't comment on that."
Meanwhile, Gomes dismissed suggestions that their Manchester visit was connected to the United boss. He said: "I don't want to speak about that, I'm a friend of Ruben Amorim, and he has a contract with Manchester United.
"We watched the game, Joao [Noronha Lopes] is a passionate football fan and I enjoyed this experience with him."
This wasn't his first time fielding questions about Amorim. Last weekend, he declared: "I can't answer that question at the moment but I'm sure that Amorim will be the manager of Benfica, one day."
United's stance and dressing room issues
Manchester United Manager Ruben Amorim after the 3-0 loss during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Manchester United
Ruben Amorim's players are frustrated by his stubbornness over the formation(Image: Shaun Brooks - CameraSport via Getty Images)
On Monday, the Manchester Evening News revealed the club's leadership remains supportive of Amorim despite United enduring their poorest start to a campaign in 33 years.
A source close to Amorim acknowledges it's 'incredible' that his job isn't genuinely at risk despite suffering 16 defeats in 31 league fixtures. Amorim, 40, is tied to United until 2027.
However, Amorim is losing the confidence of his dressing room, Daily Star Sport exclusively revealed yesterday.
It's understood senior players have been left frustrated and confused by Amorim's refusal to change his tactics. Amorim's approach to games and chosen style of play has become the hot topic of debate within the squad.
And some players believe the Portuguese is hanging them out to dry, by continually asking them to fit into a system they are not able to adapt to.
United denied the squad had lost confidence in Amorim and claimed he still had the backing of the players.
Gary Neville verdict
Gary Neville speaking
Gary Neville is worried about Manchester United(Image: YouTube/The Overlap)
United legend turned pundit Gary Neville has confessed he's 'worried' about the club's prospects over the coming weeks as pressure mounts on Amorim.
He said: "Ruben Amorim is going to come under big pressure, he's going to come under big pressure, Manchester United are 14th in the league.
"It's only a few games in, it's four games in, but next week, if Manchester United lose and they go and they go to 15th or 16th and it's five games in, before you know it we're in October and Manchester United are in the bottom half of the table and that's where they couldn't be, having spent £200 million, with him having a pre-season.
"They might be seventh, eighth, ninth, they could be in those types of positions, but they can't be in the bottom half of the table, so there's got to be a turnaround pretty quickly, and the manager's idea has got to land very quickly with the players.
"I'm not saying here today that there's any suggestion that the players have downed tools on him, they've not, but they're struggling a little bit, they're struggling, they're struggling against Burnley at home, they're struggling against Fulham away in large parts, they're struggling at Grimsby, they struggled here today. They're struggling with it, they're struggling to find rhythm, to find tempo, to find performance levels.
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"I was really heartened by the first game of the season against Arsenal. I thought it was a really good performance, but maybe that was that they'd had a good pre-season. Maybe now Cunha gets injured, Mount gets injured, the old wounds are starting to open up, and I'm worried.
"I'm worried about the manager, worried about what's going to happen in this next few weeks. I don't think it's a time for panic, but I've seen this before. We've seen this film."