‘I Told Myself’—Ruben Amorim Reveals Man Utd Vow He’s Already Broken in New Job

The Portuguese coach had a whirlwind 14 months at Old Trafford that ended in his dismissal.

Ruben Amorim touched down in Italy this week. | Piero CRUCIATTI/AFP/Getty Images

Ruben Amorim considers his new job at AC Milan an even “bigger challenge” than the one he took on with Manchester United, which ended abruptly and without success in January 2026.

Amorim was the latest manager tasked with restoring Manchester United to former glories, but wound up delivering a 15th-place Premier League finish in his first season—a worst in the Premier League era and a 51-year low for the club overall.

The Portuguese had the benefit of any doubt at that stage as he continued to try and implement a major tactical change that ultimately did not work. After some improvement by the halfway stage of 2025–26, but still sorely lacking in consistency, Amorim left the club after a reported disagreement with sporting director Jason Wilcox over tactics supposedly left their relationship beyond repair.

Six months later, Amorim was the man chosen by Milan to lead a new chapter in the team’s history, following a scorched earth reset at the end of 2025–26. The Rossoneri had fired previous boss Massimiliano Allegri after the club was pipped to Champions League qualification by Como on the final day of Serie A, which had followed a collapse after being in title contention until February.

Milan also fired the chief executive, sporting director and technical director for “unequivocal failure.” Massimo Calvelli was appointed the new CEO in late June, but there may not be replacements for the two others role amid reported plans to restructure from within.

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AC Milan Start Brand New Chapter With Amorim in Charge

Amorim lost his Man Utd job in 2026. | Robbie Jay Barratt/AMA/Getty Images

“I am truly very happy to be here. It's an honor to be the Milan coach. If you watch an old interview of mine, I said that this is a special club for me,” Amorim told reporters outside Milan Linate Airport as he arrived in the city before formally starting work.

“It’s a big challenge,” he continued. “After the last time [at Manchester United], I told myself to choose less demanding challenges, yet here I am, it's an even bigger challenge.

“But I am proud to be here; now I want to work with my staff and my players ... I am truly happy to be here. Am I here to win? You cannot come to Milan without this mentality. We have a lot to do, but if you are the Milan coach, you must play to win.”

His return to management after only a few months out of work is financially helpful to Manchester United, capping the vast compensation due to the Portuguese and his staff.

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Big Expectations Await Amorim in Milan

Milan fell apart last season. | Claudio Villa/AC Milan/Getty Images

AC Milan were previously a standard bearer across Italian and European soccer but no longer hold that reputation and haven’t for some time. Yet expectations are no different.

Since 2004, Milan have won Serie A only twice. Over the same period of time, Juventus have won nine titles—excluding two that were stripped as a result of the calciopoli scandal, while city rivals Inter have also collected eight championships.

The Rossoneri last won the Champions League in 2006–07, at which point six European titles was only three shy of Real Madrid (9). Now, Los Blancos have 15 and Milan’s best effort in the last 19 years is a single semifinal appearance (2022–23).

Clubs and fans alike will expect to see the team quickly become competitive in Italy and abroad, although they have to make do with the Europa League this coming season.

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