It’s been a dramatic 24 hours at Manchester United, with the Red Devils nearing the appointment of a new manager following the sacking of Erik ten Hag on Monday morning.
Ten Hag was relieved of his duties after a disastrous start to the season, which saw United lose four of their first nine league games, while also failing to record a win in Europe.
United have moved quickly to find his successor, with 39-year-old Sporting Lisbon boss Ruben Amorim agreeing to take over, doubling his salary to £5 million a year.
But what do we know about the man moving closer to the Old Trafford hotseat?
The move from Lisbon to Manchester promises to be a big step for Amorim, but he can count on the full support of his wife, Maria Joao Diogo.
Ruben Amorim married Maria Joao Diogo (right) in 2013 and she temporarily gave up her career for him
Maria is a successful interior designer herself, but has made great sacrifices to support her husband
Maria (left) founded her interior design company but left it to join Amorim in Qatar
Amorim and Maria married in 2013, and their relationship was tested early on when he opted to leave the club he supported as a boy, Benfica, to join Qatari side Al-Wakrah two years later.
Maria had built her own successful career while Amorim was carving out his path in football, earning a degree in telecommunications engineering before founding her own interior design company, Dois Tons.
She decided to temporarily leave her career behind to join Amorim in the Middle East, and he has spoken fondly of their time together in Qatar, but admitted it was far from easy for the couple.
“I had never played abroad, I had traveled abroad but I hadn’t played,” he explained.
‘Qatar, to live in, for the family, is a spectacular country. People have no idea of the quality of life you have in Qatar. It’s very family oriented… If I had to choose to live with my family, I would go to Qatar.
‘My wife came to see me and I went first to arrange everything. She asked me what kind of clothes I could bring, where we could live, whether it was traditional or not. I told her to bring a certain kind of clothes and she came there and said to me, “Ruben, I didn’t bring any clothes to wear here.” For now it was very hot and I told you to cover up better. When we started investigating, it seemed like they opened the doors.
‘There were certain things that confused me: things were not certain, it was always tomorrow. I spent six months in a hotel room with my wife. [When it was time to go to a house] they always said ‘Insha’Allah tomorrow’ [‘Tomorrow, God willing’].’
Amorim’s stay in Qatar was short-lived: he returned to Portugal in 2016 before hanging up his boots.
From there his coaching career took off, and you could say his move to United has been six years in the making.
In 2018, Amorim completed a performance internship under Jose Mourinho at United as he got a taste of life in Manchester early on.
Amorim is fond of Jose Mourinho and did a performance internship under him at United in 2018
Amorim has won two league titles with Sporting Lisbon, following in Mourinho’s footsteps
Amorim (pictured) now looks set to become Manchester United’s next manager
Time was running out for Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford on Monday after a disastrous start to the season
The pair posed for a photo together in Carrington, and Amorim has made no secret of his admiration for his compatriot.
When asked in 2021 about the influence Mourinho has had on his career, Amorim told reporters: “My reference has always been Jose Mourinho.”
They share similar philosophies, with Amorim revealing his mentality earlier this year when he said: ‘I identify more with the other side, think more about how I’m going to beat the opponent and how I’m going to try to make sure they don’t . scoring goals.’
Mourinho has always been a serial winner, even triumphing in the EFL Cup and Europa League during a difficult two-year spell at United between 2016 and 2018.
Amorim has followed suit and led Sporting to two league titles in the past three years, having previously gone without winning a league title for almost two decades.
But he is not just a football-mad manager. Before embarking on a professional football career, Amorim even started out as an ice hockey player.
As a youngster he enjoyed skating and practiced the sport in Alverca do Ribatejo, a region north of the Portuguese capital Lisbon.
Amorim likes to practice kickboxing as a hobby outside of football management
He admits he’s not very good at kickboxing, but feels it takes the pressure off him
More than twenty years have passed since then and Amorim has now turned his hand to another sport: kickboxing, to take his mind off the stress of football.
Videos and images have been posted online of him in the gym on the punching bag as he tries to improve his craft, although he has admitted he is certainly not the finished article yet.
Reflecting on his love for kickboxing, Amorim said: “It’s a hobby. I’m not very good at it, but I spend my time how I want.
‘I hate running, I think I’ve run a lot during my career. I look for other moments to relieve the pressure.’
Yet football is his top priority and he has shown in the past that he is not afraid to take on new challenges.
Amorim has managed three clubs so far – Casa Pia, Braga and Sporting – but has never coached outside his home country.
Amorim has never coached abroad but appears to have what it takes to be a success at United
That could all change if he takes the United job, but Amorim’s wife has made a big sacrifice before by moving to another country and could do so again to help him settle in Manchester.
There is no guarantee that Amorim will be able to turn things around at Old Trafford, but he appears to have the ideal work-life balance and support network to give him the best chance of succeeding in the toughest job in football.
