To outsiders, the fact that Manchester United have not sacked Ruben Amorim yet is one of the great mysteries of our time. There have been several occasions when the Portuguese would have been given his marching orders at many other top clubs. Can you imagine Real Madrid sticking with a coach that had lost eight out of 12 league games between last December and February?
Would Bayern Munich have backed a manager that lost six out of their final nine league matches last season? Or even Borussia Dortmund? And would Juventus, Inter or AC Milan have stuck with a coach that had presided over the club's first ever defeat to a fourth-tier team and then lost three of their six league games, including being humiliated by their local rivals? The answer is obvious: no.
Now let's move the conversation on from the owners. Would the supporters of any of those elite European teams refrain from demanding such a struggling manager be dismissed? Clearly not. And would they be chanting his name at each game or holding up supportive banners for him at home and away matches? No chance. They would be much more likely to boycott games by way of protest or even invade the training ground to confront the coach and his players.
That United fans are still supporting the manager, at games at least, has a lot to do with the legacy of having Sir Alex Ferguson in charge for 27 seasons and a lack of appetite for a never-ending churn of managers. When Ferguson ended his glorious reign in 2013, he urged the Old Trafford faithful to "stand by the new manager" and that is largely what they have done, from David Moyes' nightmare tenure through to the metronomic football of Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho's mood swings and the many thrashings Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Erik ten Hag oversaw.
But why is Sir Jim Ratcliffe, a man who had no qualms about sacking 450 workers and gleefully took away employees' free lunches, keeping the faith? GOAL tries to explain the conundrum facing the United co-owner…
Getty Images SportRatcliffe likes the cut of his jib
There are quite a few similarities between Ratcliffe and the fictional media tycoon Logan Roy from the HBO smash hit television series . Both men rose to become self-made billionaires after working class upbringings and have a particularly ruthless side. They also place a big value on first impressions.
Roy takes an instant liking to Swedish entrepreneur Lukas Matsson and then to right-wing presidential candidate Jeryd Mencken, never dwelling on the negative consequences of either choice. And in a similar way, Ratcliffe simply likes Amorim, in a way he did not take to Erik ten Hag or the short-lived sporting director Dan Ashworth.
Ratcliffe secretly flew out to Lisbon to meet personally with Amorim last year when Ten Hag was still in the role and was immediately impressed with him. When describing him to last December he described the Portuguese as "intelligent, thoughtful" and hailed him as "a fantastic coach".
AdvertisementGetty Images SportOn the same page
Given United's form had nosedived by the time Ratcliffe spoke to last March, he modified his tone somewhat, but still made excuses for Amorim. "You know, you’re a young guy, you’ve come into the Premier League for the first time in your life, you’ve come in mid-season, it’s not your natural language," the Briton said. "I think coaches are emotional and Ruben’s no exception to that. And he’s a young coach. And he’s not perfect. But give Ruben a break. I think he’s a good guy, he’s working hard and I think he’s doing a great job."
He also emphasised, once more, his personal connection with the coach. "I really, really like Ruben. He’s a very thoughtful guy. Every time I go to the training ground, I speak to Ruben," Ratcliffe revealed. "I sit down and have a cup of coffee with him and tell him where it’s going wrong, and he tells me to f*ck off. I like him."
Amorim gave more details of the pair's relationship in the summer during United's pre-season tour. "We speak on the phone. He sends me messages, he sends me GIFs. I think it's really easy to deal with Jim," the Portuguese said.
"I will say whatever I need to say with, of course, a lot of respect. Like with everybody, I know that he's the owner of the club, I know my place. But when I need to say something, I will say it naturally. With no bullsh*t. I'm not around the subject, I'm really direct. I think it's something that he likes a lot."
Getty Images SportCharisma and good looks go a long way
Ratcliffe's rapport with Amorim goes some way to explain why he has been so reluctant to fire him despite the dire results and poor performances. It is difficult not to agree with the assessment of Jamie Carragher, who said: "If he wasn’t so charismatic in the press conference, and wasn’t such a good-looking man, he might have lost his job a lot earlier. When you look at the results, they are horrendous."
But Ratcliffe's relationship with Amorim would not be the only thing at risk if he were to fire him less than a year after hiring him. The United co-owner has staked his reputation on the coach being a success. He has admitted to making a huge mistake by giving Ten Hag a vote of confidence after the FA Cup final win over Manchester City, having tried to find a new coach before extending the Dutchman's contract.
And when he hired Amorim, he went over the head of Dan Ashworth, who favoured an English manager like Graham Potter, Gareth Southgate or Eddie Howe. The disagreement over who should replace Ten Hag reportedly played a big part in Ashworth being fired five months into his role as sporting director, although Ratcliffe claimed the problem was a lack of "chemistry".
Getty Images SportFinancial considerations
That leads us to another factor protecting Amorim from imminent sack: financial concerns. Firing Ashworth cost United around £4m ($5.3m) in redundancy payments, in addition to the £10.5m ($14.1m) it took to remove Ten Hag. Then there's the fact United paid an additional £11m ($14.8m) to release Amorim from his contract with Sporting CP.
With Amorim under contract until 2027, it would take at least another £10m ($13.4m) to part ways with the Portuguese. That would mean the club squandering around £35m ($47m) on hiring and firing fees in less than 12 months, which would be extra sensitive given the club sacked 250 workers in 2024 in order to save an estimated £10m per year.
Then there is the £220m ($295m) the club invested in new players over the summer. You can see why they would be keen to give the coach more time to work with Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko. And that is only one element of transfer dealings the club have done to support the coach. They also sanctioned the departures of Marcus Rashford, Rasmus Hojlund, Alejandro Garnacho and Antony, taking a massive loss on all of them, because Amorim did not see them fitting into his team.