Amorim edges closer to AC Milan job that sets up summer reunion with Manchester United

Ruben Amorim is closing in on the AC Milan head coach role, setting up an unexpected reunion with Manchester United when the two clubs meet in a pre-season friendly in Wroclaw, Poland later this summer.

Amorim was dismissed by United in January, less than 24 hours after a pointed press conference following a defeat to Leeds in which he publicly questioned the club’s decision-makers. Darren Fletcher stepped in as caretaker for two matches before Michael Carrick was appointed to see out the remainder of the season — a spell in which Carrick accumulated more points than any other Premier League manager during that period, securing Champions League football for United with three games to spare.

Amorim had arrived at Old Trafford from Sporting Lisbon in November 2024 amid considerable fanfare, but his tenure proved historically poor. United endured their worst season in 51 years under his watch, and suffered defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League final. His Premier League record produced the lowest win ratio (32 per cent), the worst goals-conceded-per-game average (1.53) and the lowest clean-sheet ratio (15 per cent) of any United manager on record.

The Portuguese coach has not spoken publicly about his time at United since his sacking. His expected appointment at Milan will give journalists an opportunity to put those questions to him directly, particularly given the pre-season fixture between the two clubs.

United’s summer schedule keeps them entirely within Europe — a deliberate decision to limit the air miles players accumulate during the off-season. Fixtures are planned against Wrexham in Helsinki, Rosenborg in Trondheim, Atletico Madrid in Stockholm, Paris Saint-Germain in Gothenburg, Leeds in Dublin, and AC Milan in Wroclaw. Excluding the Covid-affected summers of 2020 and 2021, it will be the first time United have spent an entire pre-season in Europe since 2002.