The final straw came after Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Leeds, when Amorim exploded in public — attacking the club hierarchy and insisting he was supposed to be more than just a head coach.
He said:
“I noticed that you received selective information about everything. I came here to be the manager of Manchester United… not to be the coach of Manchester United. That is clear.
I know my name is not [Thomas] Tuchel, it’s not [Antonio] Conte, it’s not [Jose] Mourinho, but I am the manager of Manchester United and it’s going to be like this for 18 months or when the board decide to change. That was my point and I want to finish with that. I’m not going to quit. I will do my job until other guy is coming here to replace me.
I just want to say that I am going to be the manager of this team, not just the coach and I was really clear on that. And that is going to finish in 18 months and then everyone is going to move on. That was the deal, that is my job… not to be a coach. If people cannot handle the Gary Nevilles, the criticism, everything… we need to change the club. I just want to say that.
I came here to be the manager of Manchester United, not to be the coach. In every department, the scouting department, the sporting director needs to do his job, and I will do mine for 18 months and then we move on.”
By then, the relationship was shattered. According to reports, Amorim had clashed repeatedly with director of football Jason Wilcox, complaining about a lack of control — especially over transfers.
United acted swiftly. He was dismissed at Carrington on Monday morning, with players informed shortly after. Darren Fletcher, academy coach and former United midfielder, will step in as caretaker.