Amorim apologises to Manchester United fans

Ruben Amorim has publicly apologised for his abrupt silence following his dismissal from Manchester United, admitting he made severe errors during his disastrous 14-month tenure at Old Trafford.

The 41-year-old Portuguese manager was officially unveiled as the new head coach of AC Milan on Wednesday. The Serie A club appointed Amorim to replace Massimiliano Allegri after the Rossoneri finished fifth in the league last season and missed out on UEFA Champions League qualification.

At the press conference, he addressed the media for the first time since his chaotic sacking in January 2026.

Amorim acknowledged that his failures contributed to his downfall but declined to dissect specific issues.

"The first thing is, it's hard to explain the mistakes because for that I would have to explain all the context of the last adventure and, sono allenatore del Milan, parlo del Milan. So it's hard to say to you every mistake," Amorim stated.

He used the opportunity to address the Manchester United fanbase directly.

"The only thing I can say is that I learned a lot and I did some mistakes and I didn't have the opportunity. And I'm sorry for that. I didn't have the opportunity to say something to the Manchester United fans at the moment, and I'm really proud to have been their coach for a year in that," he added.

Amorim concluded his statement by expressing his intent to evolve tactically in Italy.

"But now it's a different history. There are a lot of things that I could do better in the last experience, but sometimes it's like that, you need to learn to find the right spots to reach a different level, and that's my thinking here," he stated.

The apologetic tone starkly contrasts with the bitter end to Amorim's spell in England, which was defined by record-breaking lows, tactical stubbornness, and a public fallout with the club hierarchy.

Before his move to Manchester, Amorim built an elite reputation by guiding Sporting CP to two Primeira Liga titles in 2020/21 and 2023/24, as well as consecutive Taça da Liga victories in 2020/21 and 2021/22, during his tenure from 2020 to 2024. That success vanished completely at Old Trafford.

Appointed in November 2024, he guided United to their lowest-ever Premier League finish of 15th place in the 2024/25 season, accumulating a club-record low 42 points and scoring a record-low 44 goals. 

Despite the abysmal domestic form, the board backed him financially with a £216 million transfer outlay ahead of the 2025/26 campaign and stood by him after he led the squad to the 2024/25 UEFA Europa League final.

The relationship eventually fractured beyond repair in early January 2026. A 1-1 away draw against Leeds United on January 4 left the club sitting sixth in the Premier League table. 

Amorim subsequently lashed out at the club's scouting department and director of football Jason Wilcox during a chaotic post-match press conference. The board sacked him less than 24 hours later and placed former midfielder Darren Fletcher in interim charge.

Amorim departed with the worst Premier League win ratio of any permanent United manager in history. According to FotMob, he recorded just 15 league victories in 47 matches to finish with an appalling 32 per cent win rate.

He now faces a significant rebuilding project at San Siro and will be tasked with integrating crucial players like Samuel Chukwueze to return Milan to the pinnacle of Italian football