Ex-Man Utd star snubs Amorim as alternative manager should’ve replaced Ten Hag for one ‘big’ reason

Manchester United have been told why interim boss Ruud van Nistelrooy should have been appointed instead of incoming head coach Ruben Amorim.

39-year-old Amorim was named Man Utd head coach last week following INEOS’ decision to sack Erik ten Hag. The Dutchman lost his job after their disappointing 2-1 loss at West Ham.

Amorim has done a sensational job at Sporting Lisbon since 2020 as he’s helped them win the Primeira Liga twice. They have also made a stunning start to this campaign, winning their opening ten league games.

The talented head coach got some Man Utd supporters – Rio Ferdinand especially – overly excited in midweek as in his penultimate game in charge, his Sporting Lisbon side battled back from behind to beat Manchester City 4-1 in the Champions League group stages.

Amorim officially joins Man Utd at the start of next week, with Sunday’s home match against Leicester City being Van Nistelrooy’s last game as interim boss.

It remains to be seen whether Van Nistelrooy will stay on after Amorim joins Man Utd. He returned to Man Utd in the summer as he became Ten Hag’s assistant.

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Van Nistelrooy has handled himself well since stepping in for Ten Hag after he previously had a stint in charge at Eredivisie side PSV Eindhoven.

Former Man Utd player Kleberson wanted Van Nistelrooy to replace Ten Hag as there’s one “big thing” in his favour.

“I would like to see Ruud be the manager of United, 100 percent – he has a passion for the club,” Kleberson said.

“He has a lot of stuff from Ferguson, and I know that they have spoken a lot from being there together.

“The biggest thing is that Ruud knows the culture of the club, that Ferguson helped put in place. He knows the club, and can make change and the players will listen to him more because he was a great player and goal scorer in the history of the club.

“Ruud would know how to play the locker room, how the guys are feeling, and whilst I love Amorim as a young coach and the amazing things that he has done at Sporting, I really would have loved to have seen how Ruud would do as manager.”

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Kleberson has also explained why he “feels so sorry” for Ten Hag.

“I feel so sorry for Ten Hag leaving United, but we know that football is all about winning games and getting trophies, and people in football want things to happen quickly and they don’t have patience,” Kleberson added.

“But to see Ruud on the side against Leicester managing United, I was so happy for him because I know him well and how prepared he would be for this and how he would bring back the old spirit to United.

“To see him on the side of the field, it was great to see as a friend, and I was really happy for him.”