Former Man United boss Ruben Amorim was spotted playing padel with his former colleague Hugo Viana in Portugal as he continues to enjoy some time away from the game.
Amorim, 41, has maintained a low profile since he was sacked by United in January – after which he received a reported £12million pay-off.
The Portuguese coach’s ill-fated 14-month stint at the club came to an end following a disappointing 1-1 draw at Leeds, and it followed multiple disagreements with United’s hierarchy.
The Red Devils have since impressed under Amorim’s replacement Michael Carrick, winning seven of his 10 games in charge after Darren Fletcher was installed as caretaker for two matches.
But Amorim showed no signs of letting United’s upturn in form get him down as he was pictured smiling after a game of padel with Viana.
The pair, who are understood to be incredibly close having met while team-mates at Braga, were playing in the sunshine at Padel Expo, a sports club in Lisbon.
Ruben Amorim was spotted playing padel with his former colleague Hugo Viana (R) in Portugal
The club shared the photo and added a cheeky caption that read: ‘We tried to contact you to strengthen our coaching staff, but it wasn’t to be this time!
‘Thank you very much for your visit Ruben Amorim and Hugo Viana, it was a pleasure to have you at Padel Expo.’
Viana, who was the director of football that took Amorim to Sporting Lisbon, became Man City’s sporting director last April.
The former Newcastle midfielder has since helped to oversee a rebuild for Pep Guardiola’s side, with the likes of Rayan Cherki, Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi among the stars to arrive during his tenure.
As a pairing, Amorim and Viana won five trophies together at Sporting, including two Portuguese titles, and despite having worked on opposite sides of the Manchester divide, they were understood to still spend time together while Amorim was in post at Old Trafford.
The 41-year-old’s return to the spotlight comes after he was bizarrely seen at the Qatar Open last month when he watched Carlos Alcaraz’s victory over Karen Khachanov.
As the match moved towards its conclusion in the final game of the third set, the TV coverage panned to Amorim.
This caught Sky Sports’ commentators by surprise as one said: ‘Oh, it’s Ruben Amorim.’
The co-commentator added: ‘He’s got a bit of time on his hands these days. Enjoying the tennis, the former manager of Manchester United.’
Amorim, whose United tenure hit an all-time low after a defeat at Grimsby this season has maintained a low profile since being sacked by the club in January
The 41-year-old was spotted watching tennis in Qatar last month in a rare public appearance
Amorim looked relaxed when the camera panned towards him and he appeared to be watching the action from a private area.
Amorim, who previously managed Casa Pia, Braga and Sporting Lisbon after retiring from playing at the age of 32, has been linked to several jobs since his departure from Old Trafford, but he seems to be enjoying a break from the game.
His presence in Lisbon comes after one of his former players Matheus Cunha last month expressed his gratitude towards Amorim, explaining that he was part of the reason for United’s recent upturn in form.
‘I’ve always been very grateful for everything Ruben did,’ Cunha told DAZN. ‘I think it’s very easy, when things change, to see the past as only problems, but it’s quite the opposite; he was an incredible person.
‘Many new players came because of him, so I think he also plays a big part in the success we are having now.’
