"I made a lot of mistakes." That's Ruben Amorim, unprompted, at an AC Milan press conference — and it's the most honest thing said about his Manchester United tenure by anyone inside the building.
The Portuguese coach, now in charge at the San Siro after replacing Massimiliano Allegri in June, addressed his Old Trafford spell during Milan's preseason tour in Australia. He didn't deflect. He didn't blame the squad or the hierarchy — at least not entirely.
"I learned a lot," Amorim said. "It would be hard to point to one thing, but the important thing that I clearly know is that I made a lot of mistakes. When you do this kind of reflection, and you understand that it was not just their fault, but also my fault, I think you can be a better coach and a better man."
The numbers from Old Trafford are hard to look at
United paid £11 million to extract him from Sporting CP, where he'd won two Primeira Liga titles and built one of Europe's most admired tactical setups. Fourteen months later, they paid another £15.9 million to make him go away.
His win rate at United was 32%. He conceded 1.53 goals per game. His clean sheet rate sat at 15%. By all three measures, the worst of any manager in the club's recorded history. The back-three system that worked beautifully in Lisbon simply didn't translate — United gave up too much territorial control and paid for it week after week with goals conceded and points dropped.
The relationship with the hierarchy deteriorated in parallel with the results. A public outburst after a 1-1 draw at Leeds — his final match — crystallized how far things had broken down, particularly with director of football Jason Wilcox. Shortly after, he was gone.
Michael Carrick has since taken over and steadied the ship, which hasn't helped Amorim's reputation in the rearview mirror.
Milan are a different kind of project
AC Milan finishing eighth and fifth in consecutive Serie A seasons isn't a crisis, but it's not what the Rossoneri are built for either. They won the Scudetto in 2021-22 and have been fading since. The club is backing Amorim to arrest that slide.
Whether his tactical framework fits Serie A better than it fit the Premier League is the real question. Italy's top flight is more defensively structured, less chaotic than England — which could theoretically suit a manager who struggled when games became open and unpredictable. Milan's title odds will hinge heavily on whether that theory holds.
Amorim was appointed on June 15. The rebuild starts now. And at least he's walking in with his eyes open about what went wrong before.
