Manchester United defender Harry Maguire has revealed that former head coach Ruben Amorim was just inches away from making a transfer mistake that would have had serious repercussions for the club.
Disastrous spell
Amorim was sacked by United in January this year, bringing to an end an extremely turbulent 14-month stint in the dugout.
Appointed in November 2024 as a replacement for Erik ten Hag, Amorim arrived to much fanfare and expectation. However, he struggled to have an immediate impact, as he went about trying to implement his controversial 3-4-2-1 system.
There were calls for him to change his approach and adopt a style of play that was more suited to the players at his disposal, but he stubbornly stuck to his principles. He led the Red Devils to a lowly 15th-place finish in the Premier League, while also losing to Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League final.
The start of the 2025/26 campaign was slightly more positive, but defeats like the 3-1 loss to Brentford in September served as timely reminders that the team was not out of the woods yet. As the January transfer window neared, Amorim became increasingly agitated, presumably by the club’s hesitance to dip into the market for reinforcements.
The final straw was his rants before and after the draw with Leeds, in which he publicly aimed digs at the hierarchy. It later emerged that his relationship with director of football Jason Wilcox had broken beyond repair. United named Michael Carrick as Amorim’s replacement.
Carrick’s hiring proved to be a masterstroke by INEOS. The legendary midfielder secured a third-place finish with multiple games to spare and subsequently secured Champions League football after a two-year absence. Carrick was handed the job on a permanent basis in May.
Perhaps Amorim’s most inexplicable act while at United was his handling of Kobbie Mainoo. For reasons best known to himself, the Portuguese coach often overlooked Mainoo, even preferring the uninspiring Manuel Ugarte over him.
One of Carrick’s first calls was restoring Mainoo to the team. The Carrington academy graduate played a key role in United’s brilliant run since the turn of the year. His performances earned him a place in the England squad for the 2026 World Cup. He did not feature in the opener against Croatia but will be hoping for minutes later this evening when the Three Lions face Ghana.
Speaking on The Rest is Football podcast on Netflix, Maguire attempted to explain Amorim’s treatment of Mainoo. Maguire also acknowledged that selling Mainoo would have been a grave error by United.
Maguire’s remarks
Asked why Amorim didn’t trust Mainoo, and whether the United defender was baffled like everyone else outside United, Maguire said, “I think it all stemmed down to that we played a formation where it was two (in midfield) and he wanted Bruno to be one of those two.”
“I think he wanted a real defensive one alongside Bruno, and Kobbie was young, inexperienced and didn’t know the position as well.”
“If Ruben was still the manager now, Kobbie would probably have been shifted on and be looking for a new club.”
Maguire added, “It would have been a mistake; he’s a Manchester lad, he’s come through the academy, and we want those players in our club to drive our club forward for the next 10 years.”
“Hopefully he’s at the club for the next 10 years because he has the ability to do so.”
Last week, Amorim was named the new AC Milan boss following Massimiliano Allegri’s dismissal.
Featured image Carl Recine via Getty Images
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