RUUD VAN NISTELROOY will NOT remain at Manchester United.
The interim boss has been brutally AXED by new manager Ruben Amorim after he’d hoped to go back to his assistant role.
The former United striker returned to Old Trafford in the summer to work under Erik ten Hag and was installed as interim gaffer following his compatriot’s sacking on October 28.
Van Nistelrooy was keen to stay on in a role following Sunday’s 3-0 Premier League win against Leicester, which capped an unbeaten four-match stint in charge.
But that proved to be his final game with United with Amorim deciding to let him go in his first decision as boss.
The makeup of Amorim’s coaching staff is yet to be confirmed but Van Nistelrooy, 48, will not be part of it.
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The former Sporting manager, who won his final game in Portugal just 24 hours ago, arrived in Manchester earlier today.
The Portuguese coach said on Sunday he planned to hold talks with Van Nistelrooy regarding his United future on Monday.
He said: “About a legend of the club. He did a great job. I have to talk with him tomorrow. Then I will explain everything. I am very clear and I will tell you like it is. Let’s wait until tomorrow.”
Amorim’s flight, a private jet from Beja international airport, was the most tracked flight in the world on popular flight tracking site Flightradar24.
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The 39-year-old is set to bring a number of coaches along with him to Old Trafford, but United will have to pay a fee.
Amorim was given the last say on whether he wanted to incorporate the Dutchman into his backroom team and has ultimately decided against it.
Van Nistelrooy was given a standing ovation as he enjoyed an emotional and teary-eyed farewell with the Stretford End on Sunday.
The club statement read: “Manchester United can confirm that Ruud van Nistelrooy has left the club.
“Ruud rejoined in the summer and has taken charge of the team for the past four matches as interim head coach.
“Ruud is, and always will be, a Manchester United legend.
“We are grateful for his contribution and the way in which he has approached his role throughout his time with the club. He will always be very welcome at Old Trafford.
“Rene Hake, Jelle ten Rouwelaar and Pieter Morel have also departed and we wish them all well for the future.
“We will confirm the full men’s first team coaching composition in due course.”
Sporting have moved on quickly themselves, announcing a new boss at the club before Amorim even touched down in Manchester.
The Portuguese giants confirmed B coach Joao Pereira, 40, as manager earlier today.
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United fans face a wait to see their new boss, whose first game will be the visit to Ipswich on November 24.
Amorim signed a contract until June 2027 with a club option of an additional year.
Ruben Amorim is ‘Mourinho 2.0’ who turned Sporting from ‘walking dead’ into Portuguese champs… he can revive Man Utd
WHEN Ruben Amorim took charge of Sporting Lisbon in March 2020, one club official compared their situation to the “walking dead”, writes Jordan Davies.
Optimism and hope was at an all-time low.
But the Amorim-effect was almost instantaneous, guiding the Portuguese sleeping giants to their first league title for 19 years in 2020/21, losing just once and only conceding 20 goals.
Since then, Sporting have lifted another league title in 2023/24 – as well as two League Cups – and currently sit top with nine wins from nine this term.
He may be young, but Amorim already has an eye for rebuilding and revitalising fallen super powers with his infectious charisma and intense tactical philosophy that hardly ever wavers.
The “walking dead” at Manchester United must be praying for a similar sort of revival.
And they may just get it from one of the most talented young coaches on the continent – a man accustomed to breathing new life back into crumbling institutions such as Old Trafford.
Amorim has spent the last decade dreaming of one day gracing England’s Premier League, such was his admiration for an ex-United boss in Jose Mourinho growing up.
Often nicknamed ‘Mourinho 2.0’, Amorim spent a week with his coaching idol in an internship capacity at United’s Carrington training base in 2018, going on to cite him as his “reference point”.
United should not be expecting a mini-Mourinho, as Amorim said himself: “Mourinho is one of a kind. There won’t be another Mourinho. Mourinho is unique.”
And yet, you cannot help but compare the two.
For all the mismanagement in the Old Trafford hot seats over the years, this would be a real get – finally a slap in the face United’s Prem rivals have no answer for.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
