KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA - MAY 28: Manchester United Head Coach and Manager Ruben Amorim looks at the ... More crowd ahead of the match between Manchester United and ASEAN All Stars at Bukit Jalil National Stadium on May 28, 2025 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (Photo by Annice Lyn/Manchester United via Getty Images)
Manchester United via Getty Images
After the season Manchester United has endured, the club’s fans could be forgiven for wanting the campaign to end.
But soccer’s corporate behemoths are now seeking to squeeze every last bit of value from their playing staff, which increasingly means adding a globe-trotting tour to the schedule.
So, rather than heading for the beaches and resorts, Manchester United players took a long-haul flight to Malaysia to play a showpiece game against a team of South-east Asian all-stars.
Any hope the game might present some light relief had dissipated by the final whistle. A second-half strike from Myanmar winger Maung Maung Lwin condemned the Red Devils to a 1-0 loss in Kuala Lumpur, prompting boos from fans who’d forked out up to £260 to attend.
In what has become his trademark unpredictable style, manager Ruben Amorim suggested the howls from the stand were just the medicine required for his substandard team.
“I always feel guilty for the performance of the team since the first game I was here,” said Amorim.
“The boos maybe is something we need because every game we lost in the Premier League, the fans were always there. I felt when we finished every time the supporters were with us. Let’s see for next season.”
The official attendance for the game was an impressive 72,550, although interest in the next fixture has been less enthusiastic.
Around 10,000 tickets for the next fixture at the 40,000-capacity Hong Kong stadium remain.
In an even more surreal move, Amorim’s response to questions about why fans should fork out to watch a revenue-generating friendly game was to invoke the loyalty he’d shown to Benfica when watching them as a youngster,
“If you can afford it – and that is the important thing - then you support your club,” he said.
“I had my club as a young kid and no matter what the situation, I was there.
“It was difficult supporting Benfica in the 1990s as they struggled a lot. But I never stopped going.
“These people believe in Manchester United no matter what the context.”
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - MAY 11: Ruben Amorim, Manager of Manchester United, looks dejected following ... More the team's defeat during the Premier League match between Manchester United FC and West Ham United FC at Old Trafford on May 11, 2025 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
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Bold or extreme statements appear part of the Manchester United coach’s style. Last season, he seemed on a mission to outdo himself, from claiming the club was in relegation trouble to [describing them as the worst Red Devils side ever](https://www.forbes.com/sites/zakgarnerpurkis/2025/01/20/the-sign-that-ruben-amorim-is-cracking-up-at-manchester-united/).
Now, it could well be that these outrageous lines are part of a bigger strategic plan. Ex-coaches like Jose Mourinho and Sir Alex Ferguson would use outbursts to shape a particular narrative or obscure a vulnerability.
The thing about Amorim is that it just doesn’t appear to be that way. The guy drips with emotion and cannot breeze past or ignore a line of questioning.
It should be said that this doesn’t have to be viewed entirely negatively. There is something very endearing about a person who takes a question about fans attending a post-season friendly game so seriously that they refer to their childhood soccer-supporting experiences.
United’s leadership will certainly hope that Amorim’s ability to harness emotion will ultimately prove to be a positive because they are banking on him to lead another squad rebuild.
Speaking to Manchester United’s official media before the Kuala Lumpur game, chief executive Omar Berrada said a strategy to lift the club back to the top echelons was under way.
“I can’t talk about specifics, but I can say that we have been planning for many months now, and we were ready for all the different scenarios,” he said.
“Now we know what we need to do, we have a very clear idea of where we need to invest in the squad to improve.
“Now it is a question of executing that plan and doing it in a way that is prudent but is with ambition at the same time.”
The first signing within that plan is already in the offing, with Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Matheus Cunha set to have a medical ahead of a $84 million move.
Not that Amorim was willing to comment on the move.
“You have to wait for that for the next season,” he told the media in Malaysia.
“It is for you guys to talk about. I won’t confirm anything. I have no news. We will see, but there will be some changes.”
Success at Old Trafford will not necessarily depend on whether his signings work. The barometer will be whether he can improve the players already within the ranks.
Can Amorim, for example, turn Rasmus Hojlund into the player who convinced the Old Trafford hierarchy to spend $84 million?
At least The Portuguese coach hopes a break might make this difference in that regard.
“Sometimes you go to holiday, then you arrive \[back\] on the first day, start a new season and even the environment in training ground can help all these players have more confidence,” he said of Hojlund.
“We do have a lack of goals. We will try to assess that and be prepared.”
Next season will be the actual test of whether Amorim’s emotional approach is right for Manchester United.