Ruben Amorim namechecked Gary Neville during his passionate rant after Manchester United’s 1-1 draw against Leeds United
20:51, 04 Jan 2026Updated 21:04, 04 Jan 2026
Gary Neville has had his say on Ruben Amorim’s situation at Manchester United(Image: YouTube – The Gary Neville Podcast)
Gary Neville has waded in on Ruben Amorim’s “bizarre” post-match press conference comments after the Manchester United boss seemed to hint that the club and he would go their own ways when his contract expires.
The United boss cast doubt over his future at Old Trafford following the 1-1 draw at Leeds United on Sunday. Amorim had hinted at issues behind the scenes in his press conference on Friday before escalating the issue at Elland Road.
“Guys, to stop with that, I noticed that you receive selective information about everything,” he said. “I came here to be the manager of Manchester United, not to be the coach of Manchester United. And that is clear. I know that my name is not Tuchel, it’s not Conte, it’s not Mourinho, but I’m the manager of Manchester United.
“And it’s going to be like this for 18 months, or when the board decides to change. So that was my point, I want to finish with that. I’m not going to quit. I will do my job until the other guy is coming here to replace me.”
Amorim also repeated that everyone would move on when his contract expires in 18 months. He also seemed to suggest that he had been promised more power to reshape the club, while also name-checking Neville in the process.
“I just want to say that I’m going to be the manager of this team, not just the coach,” he said. “And I was really clear on that. And that is going to finish in 18 months and then everyone is going to move on. That was the deal.
“That is my job, not to be a coach. If people cannot handle the Gary Neville and the criticism of everything, we need to change the club. No, guys, I just want to say that I came here to be the manager of Manchester United, not to be the coach. And every department, the scouting department, the sports director needs to do their job. I will do mine for 18 months and then we move on.”
Ruben Amorim’s post-match press conference after Man United’s draw against Leeds hit the headlines(Image: PA)
Following Amorim’s rant, Neville was asked about his thoughts on the matter on the Gary Neville podcast from the Etihad Stadium. “Some bizarre comments around, ‘I’m a manager, not a head coach’. I just said about Maresca, once you start this game-playing in your press conferences, something is obviously annoying him, he’s not feeling the support and he’s letting go,” he said.
“To say that you’ve come to the club as a manager, I thought he was appointed head coach of the football club and appointed to coach the team. Manager is a title that we don’t see anymore. I don’t know what Pep Guardiola is at Manchester City.
“Manager suggests that he’s saying that he wants to manage more than just the training ground performance. He wants to overlook other parts of the club. They have a greater say on other parts of the club, like recruitment, academy, style of play and how the club go about their pre-season friendlies.
“He’s suggesting, maybe, that he needs to be given the ability to manage more departments of the club.I’ve not seen the press conference at all, they’ve just been sent to me by the staff producer, but [he said] about other people doing their job in their department.
“Again, that would suggest that he’s not happy with something. Something’s happened there in the last week with the quotes that are coming out, that mean that Ruben Amorim is now starting to unleash and as Maresca did.
“It’s not quite that, but it’s something similar in a way that it’s not explicit what it means, but everyone’s having to read inbetween the lines. It looks to me that he’s not happy about something in the hierarchy.
“He’s mentioned my name in it as well, apparently. That’s the sort of thing that managers tend to do towards difficult periods, they have a go at pundits. No problem with that whatsoever. I’ve actually been quite supported of Manchester United’s performances against Bournemouth, Aston Villa and Newcastle.
“I thought they were very good. I couldn’t be supportive the other night against Wolves, if that’s what he’s referring to. It wasn’t right the other night and you have to say that. It wasn’t right against 10-men Everton.
“I am going to call out when I see things that aren’t right because that’s my job. That aside, the bigger problem isn’t about what he said about me, matter of fact, it’s not a problem at all, it’s more the problem of what he’s saying is happening behind the scenes.”
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