Ruben Amorim stood in front of the Milan media on Wednesday and did something he never really got to do in England. He owned it.
The 41-year-old Portuguese manager, fresh off signing a three-year deal to replace Massimiliano Allegri at AC Milan, admitted his 14 months at Manchester United were filled with errors. He didn’t dodge. He didn’t blame. He just said he learned.
“It’s hard to explain the mistakes because for that I would have to explain all the context of the last adventure,” Amorim said at his introductory press conference. “It’s hard to say to you every mistake. The only thing to say is I learned a lot and I did some mistakes.”
What went wrong at United
Amorim took over at Old Trafford in November 2024 after Erik ten Hag got the boot. The hope was that a young, innovative coach from Sporting Lisbon could fix what felt broken. Instead, things got worse before they got worse.
United finished 15th in the Premier League that season. They lost the Europa League final to Tottenham. Amorim’s rigid 3-4-3 system never really clicked with a squad that looked like it was built by five different people with five different philosophies. And fans noticed he barely used academy kids, which is basically a sin in Manchester.
When he was fired in January 2026, United sat sixth in the table. But the damage was done. His record: 25 wins in 63 matches across all competitions, 23 losses. In the Premier League alone, he won 15 of 47 games. That’s a points-per-game average of 1.23. The worst of any United manager in the Premier League era.
“Everyone learns from their experience,” he said. “I learned a lot. I did some mistakes. There are some things I will try to change and there are some things you never change. But I think I will be a better coach.”
One thing he regrets
Amorim said he wishes he’d had a chance to address the United supporters directly before he left. He didn’t get that opportunity.
“I didn’t have the opportunity, and I’m sorry for that, to say something to the Manchester United fans,” he said. “I’m really proud to be their coach for a year in that time.”
It’s a classy thing to say, considering how ugly things got. But Amorim seems to understand that the Premier League chewed him up and spit him out, and he’s got a shot at a reset in Serie A.
What Milan is getting
AC Milan is betting that the Amorim who won two league titles in Portugal is still in there somewhere. The club handed him a three-year contract and essentially said: go be that guy again.
Amorim knows the stakes. He knows Italian football is tactical and unforgiving. But he also seems to believe that failure at United doesn’t have to define him.
“But now is a different history,” he said. “There are a lot of things I could do better in the last experience but sometimes it’s like that. You need to learn to find the right spot to reach a different level and that’s my thinking here.”
He didn’t promise trophies. He didn’t make grand declarations. He just said he’ll try to be better. For a guy who just got another chance at a massive club, that’s probably the right move.
Leave a Comment