“It was a normal match.” Five words spoken to Sky Sport Italia in Wrocław on Saturday evening, after AC Milan had come from behind to beat Manchester United 4-2. Five words that would have been unimaginable coming out of Amorim’s mouth eight months ago.
Then, the Portuguese was the Manchester United head coach whose relationship with the club was collapsing on live television. After a 1-1 draw with Leeds United on 4 January 2026, he publicly told the club’s leadership “to do their job”, a swipe at the scouting department and sporting director Jason Wilcox. The next day United sacked him. He had been in the job 14 months.
The reunion in Wrocław
On Saturday at the Tarczyński Arena, Amorim was on the other bench. Harry Maguire headed United in front inside two minutes from a Bruno Fernandes corner, Samuel Chukwueze equalised before the break, and Patrick Dorgu restored the lead early in the second half. Milan then scored three times inside 15 minutes through Alphadjo Cissé, Gonçalo Ramos and Ruben Loftus-Cheek. Fernandes had a penalty saved by Lorenzo Torriani, and Marcus Rashford made his first appearance for United in 20 months.
Then came Amorim’s press conference. Asked about the emotion of facing the club that had let him go, he shrugged it off.
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“No. For me, it was a normal match. Since I signed with Milan, I haven’t felt anything for Manchester United.”
He softened the line a moment later.
“I’m just proud to have been at Manchester United and I still love the club, but after signing with Milan, I don’t feel anything negative.”
“I’m very happy, because I’m where I want to be. I just want to continue here.”
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The 14 months he says he feels nothing about
Amorim’s spell at Old Trafford was one of the most public managerial breakdowns English football has seen in years. He took United to a 15th-place Premier League finish in his first, incomplete season, and lost the 2025 Europa League final 1-0 to Tottenham at San Mamés in Bilbao on 21 May 2025. Only one win in the last five fixtures preceded his sacking, along with a growing sense that he had lost the dressing room and the boardroom on the same night.
Darren Fletcher, the club’s under-18s coach, took the first game as caretaker. Michael Carrick was confirmed as permanent United manager on 22 May 2026 after 11 wins from 16 league games as interim, and it was Carrick in the opposite dugout on Saturday. The reunion did not go to plan for him.
“We’re disappointed with it. We didn’t play well today,” Carrick told reporters.
Amorim, appointed at Milan in June, was more concerned with the trend of his own team than the identity of the opponent.
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“I wanted to win a game in pre-season to give our fans a good image.”
