Ruben Amorim has agreed in principle to become the new head coach of AC Milan – saving Manchester United up to £10million in compensation.
Amorim has been out of work since he was sacked by United in early January, but is set to be installed at the San Siro as the successor to Massimiliano Allegri.
United’s financial accounts in February revealed that the club had set aside a maximum of £15.9m to pay compensation to Amorim and his backroom staff – assistant Carlos Fernandes, first-team coaches Adelio Candido and Emanuel Ferro, goalkeeper coach Jorge Vital, physical performance coach Paulo Barreira and analyst Eduardo Rosalino – if they do not return to work in the 18 months before their contracts were due to end on June 30, 2027.
It means that if Amorim is appointed by Milan, and joined at the San Siro by the tight-knit Portuguese team that worked with him at Sporting Lisbon and Old Trafford, United will save around two-thirds of the compensation due to them.
The 41-year-old emerged as a leading candidate for Milan over the weekend as the Italian club look for a replacement for Allegri whose second stint there ended last month after he failed to qualify for the Champions League.
Ruben Amorim was sacked by Manchester United in January after 14 months in charge
Amorim has also been linked with the vacancy at his old club Benfica following Jose Mourinho’s move to Real Madrid, but it’s understood that he would prefer to work outside Portugal at the moment.
If he is confirmed as Milan boss, one of his first games in charge will be against United in Wroclaw, Poland on August 15 after the club’s final pre-season fixture was confirmed last week.
Even though United will be saving money on Amorim’s compensation, they have paid out a substantial amount since Sir Jim Ratcliffe took over the day-to-day running of the club.
Sacking Erik ten Hag and his backroom staff just a few months after they were handed new contracts cost £14.5m, and United’s accounts also showed that they wrote off £6.3m as part of the £9.5m compensation package to Sporting for Amorim.
An additional £4.1m went to Dan Ashworth after he was axed as sporting director after five months.
