Ruben Amorim accused of trying to get sacked to land huge Man Utd payout
Simon Jordan believes Ruben Amorim got exactly what he wanted by being sacked by Manchester United following his extraordinary comments after Sunday's draw at Leeds United. The former Sporting boss went public with his grievances at Elland Road, demanding to be referred to as the 'manager' and not the 'head coach' while urging United chiefs to let him do his job without interference.
United issued a statement on Monday morning to confirm that Amorim had been relieved of his duties with immediate effect. Reacting to the news on talkSPORT, Jordan suggested the 40-year-old's comments after the Leeds game bore all the hallmarks of a manager seeking a huge payout from getting sacked. He also compared the situation to the one that saw Enzo Maresca axed by Chelsea after a similar press conference outburst.
"I listened to Amorim yesterday and in conjunction with listening to Enzo Maresca, I didn't think what he said was particularly controversial," said Jordan.
"He was making a point about what role he felt he had to have, but asking people to do their jobs is not the same as telling people that ultimately he had the worst 48 hours of his life and hadn't been supported.
"So I looked at it and thought it was deeply unprofessional, which is what these managers seem to exhibit too often these days.
"The idea that you can communicate to your people you work for through the media is unprofessional. You wouldn't want your players going out and saying something dreaful about you as a manager.
"So why would you expect a manager to be able to say something to the hierarchy, the real power in the room, and expect to get away with it?
"When I listened to it, I thought: 'Where are you going with this, what is your point here, and what are you trying to achieve?'
"I'm assuming what he was trying to achieve was to get fired and get paid. I'm assuming that's what his outcome was. I can't see any other way if you look at the language that he used.
He said: 'I'll be here for another 18 months as agreed and then we'll go our separate ways unless something changes'. So it has happened, it's changed. What was the point of Ruben Amorim? What was the point of this experience?
"You've had 14 months of him saying rather absurd things and then seemingly getting himself together and a team that is seemingly inch by inch getting slightly better, then he turns it upside down."
According to The Athletic, United will need to pay out Amorim's contract in full because no break clauses to facilitate a discounted exit were included.
His deal was set to run until the summer of 2027 with the option to extend it for an additional year. He will, therefore, be entitled to a significant windfall as a result of his early sacking.