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Manchester United have confirmed that Ruben Amorim will be their new permanent head coach.
It’s done.
Bem-vindo ao Manchester United, Ruben Amorim 🇵🇹🤝🔴#MUFC
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) November 1, 2024
The club posted the news on X this morning, with a post saying “It’s done” and “Bem vindo ao Manchester United, Ruben Amorim”, which means “Welcome to Manchester United”.
The words are accompanied by a picture with the caption “Ruben Amorim Manchester United head coach”
The words are very significant, as “head coach” is a very different job title from “manager” and marks a new era for the club.
This new title conveys a clear demarcation of the boss’s role, compared to the more overarching “manager”. It is a signal of intent from the club that the director of football, Dan Ashworth, will take up a lot of the responsibilities once enjoyed by Erik ten Hag and those before him.
The club has also issued a press release, saying:
“Manchester United plc (NYSE: MANU), is delighted to announce the appointment of Rúben Amorim as Head Coach of the men’s first team, subject to work visa requirements.
“He will join until June 2027 with a club option of an additional year once he has fulfilled his obligations to his current club. He will join Manchester United on Monday 11 November.
“Rúben is one of the most exciting and highly rated young coaches in European football. Highly decorated as both a player and coach, his titles include winning the Primeira Liga twice in Portugal with Sporting CP; the first of which was the club’s first title in 19 years.
“Ruud van Nistelrooy will continue to take charge of the team until Rúben joins.”
Joining on 11th November means that he will see out Sporting’s last three games before the international break, giving Ruud van Nistelrooy the opportunity to continue his interim role for the matches against Chelsea, PAOK and Leicester City.
Amorim’s first game as United’s head coach will be against Ipswich Town on November 24th.