Manchester United have announced that Sporting Lisbon manager Ruben Amorim will replace Erik ten Hag later this month.

The Portuguese manager, 39, will take the hot seat at one of world soccer’s biggest and most successful clubs, replacing Ten Hag, who was sacked following a poor start to the 2024 campaign. A 2-1 away defeat to West Ham was the final nail in the Dutchman’s coffin, and he will depart Old Trafford an FA Cup and Carabao Cup winner.

Amorim has agreed to an initial two-and-a-half-year deal and the club can extend that by a further year from June 2027, and he will become the club’s first-ever head coach. However, the former Benfica star will not start in Manchester until Nov. 11. Amorim will fulfil obligations at Sporting Lisbon before departing to manage in the Premier League.

Man Utd legend Ruud van Nistelrooy will continue as the Red Devils’ caretaker manager until Amorim arrives. That will hand Van Nistelrooy three more games to shine as interim boss off the back of a 5-2 home win over Leicester City in the Carabao Cup. Van Nistelrooy will take charge against longtime Premier League rivals Chelsea this weekend, followed by a visit by Greek side PAOK, and then Leicester on Nov. 10.

Who is Ruben Amorim?

Amorim was a former Benfica, Braga star, and he also made 14 appearances for Portugal. He won nine major honors at Benfica including three league titles. Amorim ended his playing career in Qatar in 2016 with Al-Wakrah.

Within two years, Amorim transitioned into management. He was first named a head coach by Casa Pia in 2018, before moving on to his former club Braga to take charge of their B team a year later. In 2019, he was promoted to first-team manager, where he continued to impress.

He helped Braga win the Taça da Liga, the Portuguese equivalent of the Carabao Cup, and his stock sky-rocketed. Amorim then moved on to Sporting, where he has achieved great success, despite his youth.

Amorim leaves Sporting with a legendary legacy after guiding the club to its first league title in 19 years

Amorim leaves Sporting with a legendary legacy after guiding the club to its first league title in 19 years ( 

Image:

Getty)

He guided Sporting to its first league title in 19 years in 2021 and he won it again last season. Amorim also won two Taça da Ligas. His overall record as a manager across 245 games is 175 wins, 34 draws, and 36 losses. That’s a whopping 71.4% win percentage.

Amorim has long been linked with a switch to the Premier League. Last summer, he was reportedly on Liverpool’s shortlist to replace legendary manager Jurgen Klopp. However, the Reds went with Arne Slot, who has had an excellent start to life at Anfield.

He also flew in for talks with West Ham, who reportedly passed up on the opportunity to snap up the highly-rated manager and appointed Julen Lopetegui. Man Utd’s rivals Manchester City have looked at Amorim as a potential successor to Pep Guardiola, should the Spaniard leave – but the Red Devils have stolen a march on the Cityzens.