An exciting start to the season is falling apart in spectacular fashion for Manchester United, and Kobbie Mainoo seems to be at the centre of it all.
Ruben Amorim never really trusted Kobbie Mainoo when it mattered, reminding one of the blind spot Erik ten Hag seemed to have for Antony regarding Amad’s omission.
That ultimately cost him his job, and Amorim dying on the hill of not picking Mainoo seems even weirder because players who played over him aren’t pulling up any trees.
This led to Mainoo exploring a departure, and even though recent reports suggested that the situation is “calm” around the player, the root of his frustration might well go back to much before the back-to-back snubs to start this season.
Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim during the Premier League match between Fulham and Manchester United at Craven Cottage in 2025 in London, England.
Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images
Ruben Amorim and Kobbie Mainoo share worst Man Utd moment
For all the talk of the manager and the player not seeing eye-to-eye over the demands of the system and his role in it, it’s ironic that their worst moment came at the same time.
Mainoo might have been left on the bench to start this season, but that is just the straw that broke the camel’s back, which was overloaded long before.
Amorim’s worst moment at Man Utd came in the Europa League final against Spurs, which, coincidentally, is also when Mainoo might have realised he’s fighting a losing battle at Old Trafford.
Despite being the hero of United’s march to the final with his goal against Lyon, Mainoo was subbed on in the 90th minute against Spurs that day.
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Despite the team looking toothless and needing a goal, a player who has shown the ability to create something out of nothing wasn’t given substantial minutes.
In fact, it can be argued that Mainoo made the difference against Lyon only because it went to extra time, since he was subbed on at the 86th minute in that game.
Mainoo rarely played minutes in any consequential games last season, and that role has been reduced further to a complete absence this season.
Playing a single minute in United’s biggest game of the season last campaign was when he would have accepted that Amorim just doesn’t rate him.
Mainoo’s treatment is eroding goodwill for Amorim
It must be noted that the overwhelming backing for Mainoo over Amorim is not a case of player power winning again, because there are no mitigating factors in this case.
Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho, or Jadon Sancho had varying levels of unprofessionalism, which strengthened Amorim’s authority when they were exiled.
Mainoo has been a model professional, at least from the outside, and has already proven himself capable of playing in multiple systems.
Most frustratingly, he has been clearly better than the likes of Manuel Ugarte and Casemiro when he has played, and Fernandes, who he is supposedly the backup for, is never subbed off.
In fact, pre-season provided hard evidence that he’s a part of Man Utd’s best midfield duo.
Considering all these factors, it’s understandable that Amorim’s treatment of Mainoo is eroding all the goodwill he earned with the fans.
It would be allowed to an extent if his preferred combination was at least winning games, but losing games while eroding United’s identity is not the way to go.