Ratcliffe: Amorim has three years to prove himself at United

LONDON — Ruben Amorim has been given three years to prove himself at Manchester United, after co-owner Jim Ratcliffe insisted he will not make a knee-jerk decision about the under-fire manager's future.

Amorim has endured constant speculation that he faces the sack throughout this season, as United lurches from one crisis to another.

The former Sporting Lisbon boss, who was hired by Ratcliffe in November 2024, admitted earlier this term that he had considered quitting during United's darkest moments.

Amorim's side finished 15th in the Premier League last season — its lowest final top-flight position since 1973-74 — and squandered a chance to qualify for the Champions League when it lost the Europa League final to fellow league struggler Tottenham.

United has fared little better this season. Currently sitting 10th in the table, it lost three of its first seven league games and suffered a shock League Cup elimination at the hands of fourth-tier Grimsby Town.

Amorim has yet to record successive Premier League wins since replacing the sacked Erik ten Hag, with a trip to defending champion Liverpool straight after the international break.

Despite the talk that Amorim, whose side beat newly promoted Sunderland in its last game, remains in danger of being axed, Ratcliffe said that the 40-year-old would be given time to turn things around.

"He has not had the best of seasons. Ruben needs to demonstrate he is a great coach over three years. That's where I would be," Ratcliffe told The Times newspaper's The Business podcast.

"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 rosy tomorrow.

"You can't run a club like Manchester United on knee-jerk reactions to some journalist who goes off on one every week."

'No free lunches'

Ratcliffe has owned just under a 30 percent stake in United since February 2024, when he took control of soccer operations at the 20-time English champion.

That left the Glazer family, who has endured numerous fan protests since taking over in 2005, still in overall charge at Old Trafford.

United hasn't won the English title since 2013, while its last European trophy was the 2017 Europa League.

Asked what would happen if the Glazers told him to sack Amorim, Ratcliffe said: "That's not going to happen."

The INEOS chief said the Glazers were happy for him to take charge, adding: "That probably sums it up. We're local and they're on the other side of the pond.

"That's a long way away to try and manage a football club as big — 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.

"They come to the board meetings. We sit down and we talk about things."

Ratcliffe has also come in for criticism after controversial cuts designed to drive down costs at United saw around 450 jobs axed and the removal of perks like subsidized staff lunches.

"The costs were just too high. There are some fantastic people at Manchester United, but there was also a level of mediocrity and it had become bloated," he said.

"I got a lot of flak for the free lunches, but nobody has ever given me a free lunch.

"The biggest correlation, like it or not, between results and any external factor is profitability.

"The more cash you have got, the better squad you can build. The better your squad, the better your football should be."

Amorim's squad was boosted by more than 200 million pounds worth of new summer signings.

"A lot of what we have done in the first year," Ratcliffe said, "is to spend an awful lot of time putting the club on a sustainable, healthy footing."

Record revenues

Despite United's stock falling on the pitch, off it the club recently posted record revenues of 666.5 million pounds ($892.1 million) for the year to June 2025, albeit with a 33 million pounds loss.

"If you look at our results for last year we have the highest revenues ever. Profitability, the second highest. We're not seeing all the benefits of the restructuring that we've done in this set of results, and we were not in the Champions League.

"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."

Ratcliffe also said he wants to revive the club's Academy that once churned out the likes of multiple title winners David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville.

"The academy has really slipped at Manchester United," Ratcliffe said. "You don't solve the academy problem overnight. It takes time. We have just recruited a new academy director.

"There's absolutely no question that we've made errors as we've gone along," he admitted, adding: "Nobody's perfect."

Agencies