Ratcliffe says Amorim has three years to change fortunes at MUFC and will not run the club in a knee-jerk way.
Ratcliffe says Ruben Amorim has three years to prove himself at Manchester United.
Ruben Amorim will not be fired on the spur of the moment, according to Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who has stated that he will give the head coach three years to prove himself at Manchester United.
Due to his difficulties in turning the club around, Amorim has been under pressure. The 40-year-old has been in charge for 11 months, but the team is currently in 10th place and has not won consecutive league games.
United finished 15th last season, with 37 points from their 34 league games, and lost to Grimsby in the Carabao Cup in August. Amorim’s 3-4-3 formation has drawn criticism because it hasn’t produced results despite a summer net spend of roughly £170 million.
“He has not had the best of seasons,” Ratcliffe told The Business podcast. “Ruben needs to demonstrate he is a great coach over three years. That’s where I would be. The press, sometimes I don’t understand. They want overnight success. They think it’s a light switch. You know, you flick a switch and it’s all going to be roses tomorrow. You can’t run a club like Manchester United on kneejerk reactions to some journalist who goes off on one every week.”
Since acquiring a 25% stake in the team in December 2023 from the Glazer family, who still hold the bulk of the club, Ratcliffe has been in charge of football operations. When asked how he would react if the Glazers recommended that Amorim be fired, Ratcliffe replied, “It’s not going to happen.”
The Glazers are rarely seen at Old Trafford and have been the target of multiple protests over the years, so Ratcliffe and Ineos are left to handle day-to-day operations.
“We’re local and they’re the other side of the pond,” Ratcliffe said. “That’s a long way away to try to manage a football club as big and as complex as Manchester United. We’re here with feet on the ground. They get a bad rap … but they are really nice people and they are really passionate about the club.”
United last month reported record revenues of £666.5m in the financial year to June 2025 but a loss of £33m. “We’re not seeing all the benefits of the restructuring that we’ve done in this set of [financial] results and we were not in the Champions League,” Ratcliffe said.
“Those numbers will get better. Manchester United will become the most profitable football club in the world, in my view, and from that will stem, I hope, a long‑term, sustainable, high level of football.”