Rúben Amorim fired: What are Manchester United’s shortest ever managerial tenures?
Portuguese coach Amorim has left the Premier League club after just over a year at the helm at Old Trafford.
Rúben Amorim has been fired as Manchester United head coach, the Premier League club has confirmed.
How long did Amorim last at United?
The Portuguese departs after just 14 months in charge at Old Trafford, having replaced Erik tan Hag as United boss in November 2024.
Amorim leaves Manchester with the 20-time English champions sitting sixth in the Premier League, following a run of just one win in five top-flight games.
United’s current Premier League points haul - 31 in 20 matches in 2025/26 - leaves the Red Devils equidistant from top spot and the relegation zone: 17 points separate them from both.
Club statement: Ruben Amorim.
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) January 5, 2026
A record United low
Last season, after stepping into Ten Hag’s shoes midway through the campaign, Amorim led United to a 15th-place finish - the club’s lowest in the Premier League era.
In 2024/25, Amorim’s United team also lost the Europa League final, suffering a 1-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur at Bilbao’s Estadio San Mamés.
Amorim’s United exit comes amid apparent tensions over transfer strategy between the head coach and the club’s director of football, Jason Wilcox.
“Right time to make a change”
In a statement on Monday, United said: “With Manchester United sitting sixth in the Premier League, the club’s leadership has reluctantly made the decision that it is the right time to make a change. This will give the team the best opportunity of the highest possible Premier League finish.
“The club would like to thank Ruben for his contribution to the club and wishes him well for the future.”
Was Amorim’s the shortest ever reign by a Manchester United boss?
In all, Amorim oversaw just 62 games as United head coach; while not the shortest ever, it is among the briefest tenures endured by a full-time Old Trafford boss.
The 40-year-old lasted only 11 matches longer than David Moyes managed just over a decade ago. In April 2014, the Scot was fired just nine months and 51 matches after replacing Sir Alex Ferguson.
To find a shorter tenure by a permanent United manager than those experienced by Amorim and Moyes, you have to go back nearly a full century. In July 1932, Walter Crickmer departed as the Red Devils’ boss after only 43 games.
Before Crickmer, Clarence Hiditch had the briefest ever reign of a full-time United boss; in 1926/27, he lasted six months and 33 matches in the position.
Who will be coach Manchester United’s next game?
In its statement, United confirmed that Darren Fletcher will take charge of the first team for its next game, a Premier League clash on the road at Burnley on Wednesday, Jan. 7.
The former United midfielder, who made 342 appearances for the three-time European Cup winners between 2002/03 and 2014/15, has been coach of the club’s under-18s team since the summer.
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