Ruben Amorim has been appointed as the new Manchester United head coach and will join on November 11, once he has fulfilled his obligations with Sporting.
Amorim has signed a contract until June 2027, with the option of a further year, and will take charge of his first United match at Ipswich on November 24.
United have paid Sporting an extra €1m (£840,000) on top of his €10m (£8.4m) exit clause for an early release from his 30-day notice period.
He replaces Erik ten Hag who was sacked last month while Ruud van Nistelrooy will continue to take charge of the first team until Amorim joins.
United host Chelsea on Sunday, live on Sky Sports. It has not yet been decided if Van Nistelrooy will be part of Amorim’s coaching staff.
Sky Sports News understands Amorim was Man Utd’s top target, and the only coach they spoke to during this recruitment process.
Amorim is the first United boss to have the title of head coach rather than manager.
A former Benfica and Portugal midfielder, Amorim retired as a player in 2017 and two years later took up his first managerial job at Braga.
The Portuguese then joined Sporting in March 2020, establishing himself as one of Europe’s most sought-after young coaches, twice guiding the club to the Primeira Liga title.
Amorim has also won the Taca da Liga – the Portuguese League Cup – on three occasions, twice with Sporting and once with Braga.
When Sporting parted with €10m (£8.4m) to recruit a head coach without a UEFA Pro Licence and with only three months of top-flight experience on his CV from Braga in 2020, it was termed “absolute insanity”.
The scathing reaction from the club’s fans and analysts in Portugal are still stored on message boards – the internet, after all, never forgets – and paints a sharp contrast to the sentiment now.
Back then, Sporting’s hierarchy were ridiculed for sanctioning such a big spend on an unknown quantity. “Another great deal by the board, €10m for unlicensed manager,” one sarcastic comment read.
This week, as Manchester United sacked Erik ten Hag and turned at the speed of light to Amorim, that same figure was a lightning rod for Sporting’s decision-makers: how dare they set the fee so low for the biggest clubs in world football to steal their special one?
The 39-year-old will be priceless to United if he delivers what they are convinced he has the ability to: a transformation of tactical identity, personality and proper football enjoyment.
