Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim backs striker Benjamin Sesko to find his feet at Old Trafford and insists his early “struggles” are “normal” amid the scrutiny the Red Devils face from the media and “club legends”.
READ MORE: ‘Control freak’ Sesko should ignore critics – Amorim
Ronaldo, who left United to join Real Madrid in 2009, rejoined the Old Trafford club from Juventus in August 2021.
However, he had his contract terminated in November 2022 after he criticised the club and said he had “no respect” for then manager Erik ten Hag in a previous interview with Morgan.
In his latest interview with the broadcaster, the 40-year-old said: “I’m sad, because the club is one of the most important clubs in the world and a club that I still have in my heart.
“They don’t have a structure. I hope that changes in the present and future, because the potential of the club is amazing.
“They are not on a good path. And it’s not only about the coach and players, in my opinion… He [manager Ruben Amorim] is doing his best. What are you going to do? Miracles are impossible.”
Amorim, who took charge of United in November 2024, led the club to last season’s Europa League final but they missed out on the trophy – and qualification for this season’s Champions League – as they lost to Tottenham.
They finished 15th in Premier League, their worst performance since the 1973-74 campaign in which they were relegated from the top flight.
They spent more than £200m in the summer but started this season slowly – including being knocked out of the Carabao Cup by League Two side Grimsby Town.
Amorim appeared to be under pressure, but United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe said the Portuguese needed three years to prove he is a “great” coach.
In an interview in March, Ratcliffe said the club had “not performed at the level that has been expected” since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson as manager at the end of the 2012-2013 season, adding that some United players were “not good enough” and some were “overpaid”.
Recently, United have shown an improvement in form, winning three of their past four league games – including a victory at Liverpool – and are eighth in the table.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos Group took control of football operations after he bought a 27.7% stake in United in February 2024.
Since Amorim’s arrival, United have spent about £250m on new signings and while Ronaldo says they have “good players”, he feels that some of them “don’t have in mind what Manchester United is”.
“Manchester United is still in my heart,” added the five-time Ballon d’Or winner, who won seven major honours with the club between 2003 and 2009.
“I love that club. But we have all to be honest and look for ourselves and say, ‘listen, they are not in a good path’.
“So, they need to change and it’s not only about the coach and players, in my opinion.”
Ronaldo’s contract at Old Trafford was terminated after an interview with Morgan in November 2022, in which he said he felt “betrayed” by United and that he was being forced out.
He added that he did not respect then-manager Ten Hag and criticised the Dutch boss again in September 2024, saying that United must “rebuild everything”.
Ronaldo signed a new contract last summer with Al-Nassr that expires in 2027 and he is expected to play for Portugal in the 2026 World Cup.
Asked by Morgan when he might retire, Ronaldo replied: “Soon. But I think I will be prepared.
“It will be tough, of course. But Piers, I prepare my future since [the age of] 25, 26, 27 years old. So I think I will be capable to support that pressure.”
Match of the Day’s Ashley Williams and Alan Shearer look at the performance of Manchester United’s Amad Diallo and the challenge of fitting him into Ruben Amorim’s system after the Red Devils’ 2-2 draw at Nottingham Forest.
WATCH MORE: Late Amad volley earns Man Utd point in thriller at Forest
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MAYA Jama and Ruben Dias looked more loved-up than ever as they transformed into pirates for Halloween.
Presenter Maya, 31, took to Instagram to share snaps from her spooky night out with boyfriend Ruben, 28.
The stunning Love Island host put on a busy display in a corset-style top and flowing skirt, finishing the look with a hat.
Meanwhile Manchester City defender Ruben channelled Pirates of the Caribbean’s Jack Sparrow in his own get up.
Maya captioned her upload: “First Manchester Halloween.”
Fans rushed to comment on the photos, with one writing: “You guys smashed it!”
Another said: “Best looking couple ever.”
And a third added: “You look so happy together.”
Maya and Ruben confirmed their romance in April this year and it’s been reported the Love Island host is planning a full-time move to Manchester to support him.
A source said previously: “Maya loves the down-to-earth nature of Manchester, as well as the glamour of the football and WAG scene.
“Bristol and London will always be special to her but she is loving spending more time in Manchester with Ruben. The city has become a celebrity hub.”
Maya recently cleared up speculation she’s set to quit Love Island, reassuring fans she’s going nowhere right now.
In a statement posted on social media, she said: “I did tell you if you were going to hear any news about it, it would come from me and me only.
“I will be hosting next year, I’ll be back for All Stars in January and then summer series in June and July. We go again, mother lovers.”
Had Amorim’s one-year anniversary been marked on 1 October, judgement would have been almost exclusively negative.
At that point, only Tottenham of the 17 teams who remained in the Premier League throughout his tenure had fewer points than United’s 34 from 33 games. After three successive victories, Wolves and West Ham are also behind them now.
On Thursday, for the first time, Amorim was shortlisted for manager of the month. In his news conference he was asked about the possibility of Champions League qualification.
If they win at the City Ground, United will go second.
Even if it is only for a matter of hours, it will be the first time they have been that high, mid-season, since a victory at West Ham in September 2021, immediately before Solskjaer’s world unravelled.
Amorim warned of reading too much into his side’s current form. But three successive wins coupled with Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s ‘three-year’ comments, means a chronical of his first year does not read like an epitaph.
A month ago, the private stinging rebuke of one critic close to the dressing room was that Amorim’s enthralling news conferences were all he was good at.
Yet, while box office in their delivery, it is the part of the job he likes the least. He is emotional, which shows itself after games. But apart from solemn moments, when he speaks on behalf of the club on matters of importance, his words are not rehearsed.
His jovial nature is at odds with his intense and serious persona on the training ground – and his rather detached presence at times.
Last season, when media were allowed to observe the first 15 minutes of training before European games, it was noticeable that Amorim watched the routine sprints and rondos on his own, from a different pitch, sometimes 50 yards away.
This, it is explained, is partly because he has no role to play but also because he is using the time to think about the messaging he will deliver in the main session.
Filmed footage of his first training session last November shows Amorim telling midfielder Kobbie Mainoo exactly how many strides he needed to move after laying a pass off, then where to open his body out to create maximum passing angles.
This summer, sources said there were points where he had two players taking up the same positions in training, before running through different scenarios to ensure they moved into the right area of the pitch.
While this may seem peculiar it does make sense given Amorim knows which players fit into which slots in his team.
That first recorded session also showed Amorim working on speed in transition, especially defensive turnovers.
Finally, with gaps between games allowing full preparation weeks, this reinforced messaging is paying off. Awful days at Grimsby and Brentford are outliers rather than the norm.
United officials say now, as they have done consistently throughout the past 12 months, there has never been an internal conversation about Amorim’s future. The club’s hierarchy, from Ratcliffe down, is supportive. The aim for the season remains European qualification.
But have there been times when Amorim himself wondered if he would get this far?
“It’s hard to say,” he said. “There were some moments that were tough to deal with, to lose so many games, was so hard for me because this is Manchester United.
“Putting all the attention on Europa League and not winning, was massive.
“So, I had some moments that I struggled a lot, and was thinking maybe it’s not meant to be. Today is the opposite. Today I feel – and know – it was the best decision in my life, and I want to be here.”
UP here at the Tory Party conference in Manchester, comparisons between Kemi Badenoch and United’s Ruben Amorim write themselves.
Two gaffers tasked with getting a once-formidable colossus back to winning ways — and both finding that nothing they do seems to work.
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Supporters who long for the glory days of old are solemn, and the dressing room is fast losing faith.
Both watch enviously as their gloating rivals in light blue continue to shine.
Both beg for more time.
After her bullish conference speech yesterday, Badenoch has bought herself that time.
It was well delivered and she hit the right notes on the economy, welfare, crime and immigration.
Her pledge to abolish stamp duty should also prick the ears of voters who until now have not been paying her attention.
As an exercise in corralling despondent Tory members and seeing off any immediate leadership threat, it’s job done, Kemi.
Much the same can be said of Sir Keir Starmer’s run out in Liverpool, where he successfully united his party against their common enemy, Nigel Farage.
He too delivered an address lapped up by his grassroots to the extent the prospect of impending mutiny melted away.
The North West has been kind to them both, and they appear stronger.
But the crashing thud of reality awaits them back in Westminster, where the mirage of the past fortnight will soon be shattered.
Party conferences are bubbles frozen in time, and it is easy to be suckered into believing a leader has played a blinder just because their own side cheers them to the rafters.
Both Badenoch and Starmer now need to come back down to Earth and confront some home truths.
The first is that Nigel Farage is still leading the polls by a mile, opening up a 12-point gap according to More In Common.
May’s local elections are almost certain to be bloody, with the party at risk of falling to a humiliating fourth in both Wales and Scotland.
Labour’s conference failed to make a dent, with the party registering “no change” in its position at 20 per cent compared to Reform’s 33 per cent.
If Badenoch also fails to make inroads, the same doubts over her leadership will come flooding back.
May’s local elections are almost certain to be bloody, with the party at risk of falling to a humiliating fourth in both Wales and Scotland.
Badenoch’s allies are setting expectations on the floor — but as one of her Shadow Cabinet tells me: “You can roll the pitch as much as you like, nothing prepares you for the pain until it actually hits.”
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Mass losses would spark a fierce internal debate between those gunning for regicide and those who despair at the thought of the Tories killing off yet another leader.
One prominent donor has been telling friends that he will close his chequebook forever if Badenoch is toppled.
Whereas a Shadow Cabinet minister says: “If she’s not going to be Prime Minister, you might as well get rid of her now.”
Her main rival, Robert Jenrick, is sitting back, but king cobras also sit back before they strike.
While plotters are setting their watches for the May 1 polls, smart Tories are looking towards November 26 to mount a fightback.
The upcoming Budget on that date was barely mentioned in both Manchester and Liverpool, but it could turn the fortunes of all parties on their head.
Last year Chancellor Rachel Reeves claimed her £45billion tax raid was a one-off forced upon her by years of Tory economic recklessness.
Now she is coming back for more in a Budget that risks being even more toxic.
Bond markets have put the Chancellor in fiscal handcuffs, rightly stopping her borrowing even more money on the slate.
Labour MPs have put her in a political straitjacket by vowing to vote down any serious spending cuts, including to the eye-watering benefits bill.
Despite the chaos of Liz Truss, voters on YouGov’s tracker still view the Tories as the most trusted custodians of the public finances.
And growth is so puny that it will barely move the dial, all pointing to taxpayers being rinsed even further to make the sums add up.
Ms Reeves is privately furious with the Office for Budget Responsibility, whose decision to downgrade productivity leaves her with an even bigger black hole — in the region of £30billion.
Perhaps she regrets fawning quite so much over the economic watchdog when it was a thorn in the Tory side.
She is preparing to once again blame the Conservative record, but that is unlikely to wash for a second time, especially if she finds money to lift the two-child benefit cap to placate her own MPs.
A fight on the economy is fertile territory for Badenoch, who spent much of yesterday attacking this “high-tax, low-growth doom loop”.
Despite the chaos of Liz Truss, voters on YouGov’s tracker still view the Tories as the most trusted custodians of the public finances.
Some at the top of the tree believe economic implosion is the shock therapy needed to get them back in the game.
One Tory Shadow Cabinet minister tells me: “People don’t yet realise how bad things are, but be in no doubt, we are flying into the mountainside. And when we crash, that is our chance to make our case to the country once again.”
Farage will of course give this short shrift, arguing he is not only reaping justified anger from years of immigration failure, but also decades of working people feeling no better off.
It is clear Badenoch still needs to go toe-to-toe on borders to have any hope of winning back voters.
But if a miserable Budget sees voters crying out for economic competence, the Tories might at last have their pitch.
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