Harry Maguire dropped a fascinating bit of inside baseball this week. The Manchester United defender revealed on Netflix’s The Rest is Football podcast that former head coach Ruben Amorim was dangerously close to letting Kobbie Mainoo go. And according to Maguire, that would have been a disaster.
Amorim’s 14-month tenure at Old Trafford was a mess from almost the start. Hired in November 2024 to replace Erik ten Hag, he arrived with a reputation and a rigid 3-4-2-1 system that never really fit the squad. Fans and pundits alike begged him to adapt. He didn’t. United finished 15th in the Premier League and lost the Europa League final to Tottenham. By January 2026, he was gone.
But one of the strangest subplots throughout Amorim’s time was how he handled Mainoo. The Carrington academy product is a local kid, a homegrown talent who’d already shown flashes of real quality. Yet Amorim kept him on the bench, often preferring Manuel Ugarte instead. It didn’t make sense to anyone watching from the outside.
Maguire tried to explain it on the podcast.
“I think it all stemmed down to that we played a formation where it was two (in midfield) and he wanted Bruno to be one of those two,” Maguire said. “I think he wanted a real defensive one alongside Bruno, and Kobbie was young, inexperienced and didn’t know the position as well.”
He didn’t stop there. Maguire made it clear just how close Mainoo came to being shipped out.
“If Ruben was still the manager now, Kobbie would probably have been shifted on and be looking for a new club. It would have been a mistake. He’s a Manchester lad, he’s come through the academy, and we want those players in our club to drive our club forward for the next 10 years.”
Carrick fixed it fast
When Michael Carrick took over in January, one of his first moves was restoring Mainoo to the starting lineup. It worked. The 20-year-old midfielder was a key part of United’s charge to a third-place finish, securing Champions League football for the first time in two years. Carrick got the permanent job in May. Mainoo earned a spot in England’s 2026 World Cup squad. He didn’t play in the opener against Croatia but could see minutes later tonight against Ghana.
Mainoo’s rise under Carrick is the kind of story that makes you wonder what Amorim was thinking. Maguire summed it up pretty bluntly.
“Hopefully he’s at the club for the next 10 years because he has the ability to do so.”
As for Amorim, he landed on his feet. He was named AC Milan’s new manager last week, replacing Massimiliano Allegri. Milan fans might want to ask Mainoo how that works out.
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