Sir Jim Ratcliffe was scathing in his analysis of five Man United players in an interview with the BBC earlier this week.
Comments
Sport
Updated 14:10, 12 Mar 2025
Amorim at his pre-match press conference on Wednesday
Amorim at his pre-match press conference on Wednesday
Ruben Amorim has challenged Manchester United's players to prove co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe wrong after he said some were "overpriced" or "not good enough".
Ratcliffe told the BBC this week that Casemiro, Andre Onana, Rasmus Hojlund, Antony and Jadon Sancho "are not good enough and some probably are overpaid".
Article continues below
Casemiro and Antony arrived at United within a week of each other towards the end of the 2022 summer transfer window. United paid Real Madrid £60million, rising to £70m, for Casemiro and made him their highest earner on more than £300,000-a-week. Antony joined from Ajax for a fee rising to £86.3m and his salary was quintupled to around £200,000-a-week.
Onana and Hojlund joined the following year for £47.2m and £64m rising to £72m respectively. Sancho cost £72.9m in 2021.
Sancho and Antony have already been jettisoned by United and are only on loan at Chelsea and Real Betis. Onana, Casemiro and Hojlund could all start in Thursday's Europa League round-of-16 second leg against Real Sociedad at Old Trafford.
"I think if we are being honest in this moment, everybody, me, all the players, we are underperforming this season," Amorim said. "So we can always change that and I include myself in that part of the underperforming.
"You are talking about players like Casemiro, for example, that won everything and we know these kind of players can play so much better. That is the focus. He was honest on that, the focus is to change his mind and change all the people’s minds.
"If you are a top player playing in this club, even me, a lot of people say I am not good enough for the club, my feeling is that you can change that with results. In training, I feel that they want this really bad, especially for tomorrow."
Ratcliffe said a new-build stadium was a "no-brainer" last year
Ratcliffe said a new-build stadium was a "no-brainer" last year
Ratcliffe gushed about Amorim during his media rounds this week, claiming the Portuguese has done a "great job" even though United are 14th in the Premier League and set to suffer their lowest finish since they were relegated in 1974.
United could salvage their season by triumphing in the Europa League, which would secure qualification for the Champions League. Ratcliffe half-joked that "I tell him where it’s going wrong, and he tells me to f**k off".
Amorim said his relationship with Ratcliffe has been "really good since day one". He added: "I think we are really blunt and honest with each other. He’s a little bit of a character, we are quite similar [in] that.
"I always felt the support of the board and especially Sir Jim. I cannot tell you the conversations but they are simple conversations, clear conversations and honest conversations."
Amorim added that none of the players had complained to him about Ratcliffe's comments. "No, nothing. I didn’t feel nothing. I really enjoyed the training today."