Viktor Gyokeres admits that it was a tough pill to swallow losing Ruben Amorim in the middle of Sporting CP's season, as the title-winner waits to make his potential Premier League transfer decision
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Sport
10:49, 23 May 2025
Viktor Gyokeres.
Viktor Gyokeres is still very fond of his former boss Ruben Amorim(Image: Valter Gouveia/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Viktor Gyokeres says there are "no hard feelings" between him and Ruben Amorim, following the manager's "sad" decision to leave Sporting CP mid-season to join Manchester United.
Gyokeres has been flying high for the Portuguese team this campaign, scoring 53 goals and assisting 13 times in all competitions. These stats, which include 39 goals in Liga Portugal, helped Sporting CP retain their title and also earned him the top scorer gong for the second year running.
The Swede is a sought-after asset for plenty of European teams, including many in the Premier League. United are reportedly in the running for Gyokeres, but will have to fend off strong interest from Arsenal to secure his signature, with the Gunners reportedly in pole position to snap him up.
However, Gyokeres' ex-manager Amorim is currently leading the Red Devils in the Premier League, and their previous bond may convince the prolific goalscorer to snub other higher-ranked clubs to reunite with his fellow countryman at Old Trafford.
In a recent interview with SIC, the 26-year-old admitted the sadness the squad felt losing Amorim mid-season, but said that nobody harboured any resentment towards the young manager for swapping the Jose Alvalade for Old Trafford.
He said: "Of course, it was something that we, as a group of players, didn't want. Obviously, like you said, we were flying and winning every game in the league and doing well in the Champions League, too.
Sporting's coach Ruben Amorim (C) greets Sporting's Swedish forward #9 Viktor Gyokeres.
Ruben Amorim and Viktor Gyokeres worked well together in Portugal - could they do the same in Manchester?
"It was a sad moment, but we totally understood his decision and there were no hard feelings. We spoke to him. Everything was very clear and there were no hard feelings.
"It was a difficult moment, but I think we all played a lot of games over a long period and then that kind of thing can happen. We've also changed coaches twice, we've had three different coaches.
"Then you can change the way you train or the amount of training and of course that can affect the body. Yes, we tried to take the best out of the situation, it was a hard period, but we got through it and still finished top of the league."
Ruben Amorim.
Ruben Amorim is reportedly planning a reunion with Gyokeres at Old Trafford
Before Amorim's exit, Sporting were enjoying something of an invincible season, having won every league game before his November exit.
Reflecting on his former manager's winning mentality, Gyokeres added: "I think when you're in that kind of moment where you keep winning, you go in with the same mentality as every game and you keep doing the same things and with the same rhythm.
"That's what we felt when we went into the games. It's possible to have those kinds of moments, I don't know if we would have kept the same level throughout the season, because I think it's very normal in football for there to be stages of the season when you maybe win every game and then there's a period when it's tougher.
Viktor Gyokeres.
Viktor Gyokeres is now a two-time league winner, and will be looking to continue his success in the future
"Of course, we always have the mentality of wanting to win every game, but as we've seen in football, it doesn't always end that way. I think it's very difficult to go through an entire season without losing a single game, as you can see in history, I don't think many teams have done it. It's one thing to win a lot of games and another thing to go a whole season without losing a game."
Should United make a move for Gyokeres this summer, it wouldn't necessarily break the bank. There is a gentleman's agreement in the Swede's contract that, in theory, would allow him to depart for a fee ranging from £55million to £60m - significantly less than his £84.3m (€100m) release clause.
Viktor Gyokeres.
Viktor Gyokeres is one of Europe's most prolific strikers right now(Image: Maciej Rogowski/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)
However, United's damning defeat by Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League final could put a spanner in Amorim's plans to reunite with his former forward.
The 1-0 loss to Spurs means that the Red Devils will be without European football in the 2025/26 season, making several other clubs more desirable than.
Gyokeres has so far been coy about his plans for the future. "Hopefully, you can expect that I will keep improving and score goals," he said. "In Portugal? Let's see, it's the future, and it's football as well, so you never know what's going to happen. As you've seen this season, you never know what's going to happen, and it's the same now. We will see in the future."