Ruben Amorim sacked by Manchester United amid claims he 'engineered' exit

Goal reports Ruben Amorim was sacked by Manchester United on Monday morning following a contentious 1-1 draw with Leeds, and the decision has been linked in reports to his behaviour in the run-up to the match as well as on-field results. According to The Sun, Amorim wanted to leave and began to "blow things up" to effectively "engineer a departure", with tension reportedly growing over transfer policy in the January window.

The manager is said to have insisted he was the "manager" with full authority, not a "head coach" under directors of football and recruitment. His tenure yielded 24 wins from 63 games in all competitions, described in the report as the lowest of any permanent United manager in the Premier League era; last season United finished 15th and reached the Europa League final, which they lost to Tottenham.

The Daily Mail cited a dressing-room source who said Amorim gave a "mumbling" and insecure pre-match talk and made a last-minute switch to a back three after the squad had trained with a back four, leaving players "surprised and confused". Darren Fletcher will take temporary charge while the club begins the process of appointing a replacement.

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Sports, Ruben Amorim, Manchester United, Darren Fletcher, Leeds, Europa League