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
Available to UK users only.
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.
5
5
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.”
5
5
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.
5
With Chelsea visiting Old Trafford on Saturday, a trip to Brentford – where United have conceded four times on each of their last two visits – and encounters with Sunderland and then Liverpool at Anfield follow, making the chances of a significant upturn in fortunes in the short-term unlikely.
Scholes is not alone in believing United have no chance of reversing their fortunes unless Amorim changes his style, with all-time leading scorer Wayne Rooney believing his old side have “got worse” under the Portuguese, who replaced the sacked Erik ten Hag last November.
“He cannot carry on playing this way, he just can’t,” said Scholes, who won 11 Premier League titles and the Champions League twice in a 20-year career with the club.
“At some point there has to be a moment where he thinks, ‘I have to change something because what I am doing now is not working and I am not getting results’. The proof is there.
“I like Amorim, with everything he says, he seems to be a likeable man. But unfortunately results paint a picture.
“At this moment in time it isn’t good enough. At this moment in time if results don’t improve, performances don’t really matter that much. He has to win some games or the pressure is going to come on him massively.”
Following last season’s struggles, where United finished 15th in the league and lost the Europa League final to Tottenham, Amorim worked hard in the summer trying to create a harmonious dressing room culture.
While there are some within the United dressing room who are thought to be uneasy about the 40-year-old’s refusal to change his tactics, there is no sign of widespread discontent as yet.
The optimism around Amorim is not confined to the Old Trafford boardroom.
João Noronha Lopes, favourite to win the Benfica presidential election on 25 October, is thought to be keen on bringing him back to the club where he made his name as a player, making 154 appearances across six seasons.
Lopes was at Etihad Stadium for Sunday’s derby, where he was accompanied by Pedro Ferreira and Nuno Gomes, the former Portugal and Benfica forward, who is one of Amorim’s closest friends.
Speaking to Portuguese media before the group left for Manchester, Gomes spoke about the prospect of hiring him.
“I can’t answer that question,” he said. “Ruben Amorim is the coach of Manchester United.
“But one thing I do know, Ruben Amorim will be the coach of Benfica one day.”
Match Of The Day pundit Danny Murphy believes Manchester United do not have the personnel needed to play Ruben Amorim’s 3-4-3 system, highlighting the performances of Bruno Fernandes and Luke Shaw in their 3-0 loss to rivals Manchester City.
MATCH REPORT: Premier League – Manchester City 3-0 Manchester United
Available to UK users only.
RUBEN AMORIM has told wantaway Kobbie Mainoo: “You have to do better.”
Midfielder Mainoo, 20, was keen to quit Manchester United before the transfer deadline because boss Amorim is not giving him enough game time.
2
2
Italian champs Napoli were interested but the Red Devils were unwilling to sanction a loan exit for the England star.
Amorim ignored Mainoo while the window was still open but had a heart-to-heart during the international break — telling him he is not the finished product and could do more.
The Portuguese coach, whose side face Manchester City in today’s Manchester derby at the Etihad, said: “Like a lot of guys, he wants to play more.
“I didn’t have a conversation with him before the window closed but I did this week.
“I didn’t want him thinking I was having the conversation just to hold on to him. Some people think he is there but I think he can do so much better.
“For some guys it’s enough, for him it’s not enough. Maybe it’s not fair but I think I’m helping Kobbie Mainoo.
“I have the same feeling that you have. That he’s a top, top player. But he can be so much better. So I’m focused on that.
“He’s not used to fighting for his place, maybe. He is uncomfortable but he is a very good kid — and he is fighting.”
Mainoo looked set for superstardom when he scored for his boyhood club in their FA Cup final win over City and then started for England in the Euro 2024 final, despite defeat to Spain.
Amorim added: “I know he started the final of the European Championship in a team that has a lot of talented players.
“Phil Foden played that game. Cole Palmer was on the bench. He was playing. But sometimes I have a different way of seeing the game.”
The ex-Sporting Lisbon boss explained where he thinks Mainoo can improve.
The United boss added: “He needs to have the technical ability that he has but he needs more pace.
“He needs to play at different speeds. Sometimes he’s slower and sometimes he’s faster. He can improve on that.
“And then he has to beat Bruno Fernandes. He has to beat Casemiro and Manuel Ugarte. They are good players also. I need to choose.”
Amorim pointed to fellow Portuguese Vitinha, Paris Saint-Germain’s midfield general, as a player who once struggled but is now thriving.
He said: “Sometimes it’s about the opinion of a coach. I remember Vitinha was not playing for Wolves. Nowadays, Vitinha is maybe the best midfielder in the world.”
IN
TOTAL – £232.5m
OUT
TOTAL – £40m
Ruben Loftus-Cheek says he “completely forgot” about playing for England and was “just a fan” during his near seven-year absence from the national team.
Loftus-Cheek’s last appearance for the Three Lions came in a friendly against the United States in November 2018 after he had been part of Gareth Southgate’s World Cup squad that reached the semi-finals in Russia the same year.
The 29-year-old midfielder ruptured his Achilles in 2019 playing for Chelsea in a friendly in the USA before the Europa League final, and subsequently dropped out of the England reckoning.
He joined AC Milan in 2023 and has made 71 appearances for the Rossoneri in all competitions, scoring 11 goals and registering three assists.
“When I ruptured my Achilles, I was on such a high [before it happened], so after that I had a hard time mentally,” said Loftus-Cheek.
“But I was still young, I still had time to come back, so I wasn’t too low.”
He added he had “got used” to not joining up with England because he had been away for so long.
“You still want to push in club football with the hope of maybe getting a sniff,” he said.
“But I just completely forgot about it and was being a fan of the team instead.”
Loftus-Cheek said it took about two years for him to feel himself again after the injury.
“If you have got good people around you it is going to help you so much, but the main thing comes from your self drive,” he said of his recovery.
“That belief, to overcome challenges, is paramount in sport and in life – that you have this mentality in overcoming challenges.”
MANCHESTER UNITED are set for a make-or-break deadline day after failing to sell any players this window.
But Ruben Amorim’s side is running out of time with the window shutting at 7pm tonight.
7
7
United are keeping potential deals with Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martinez and Royal Antwerp’s Senne Lammens warm before deciding which one to go for.
Both players want to join Amorim’s side and were left out of their respective squads over the weekend. United aren’t in line to sign both goalkeepers.
£17million-rated Lammens, 23, is a project for the future, while World Cup winner Martinez can surely put things up between the sticks immediately.
SunSport understands Lammens is happy with the personal terms now on offer after talks stalled last week, and the Belgian wants to move to Old Trafford.
However, the Red Devils still need to agree a fee with Royal Antwerp, who are believed to be seeking £20 million.
Martinez, 32, would cost significantly more at around £40million and would demand higher wages in line with his current Villa Park deal, which still has five years left.
United winger Antony is expected to travel to Spain for a medical with Real Betis, where he enjoyed a revitalising six month loan last season.
He will take a significant pay cut to leave and will join Betis for £21.7m, with the deal made up of an initial £19m payment plus £3.4million in adds.
SUN VEGAS WELCOME OFFER: GET £50 BONUS WHEN YOU JOIN
It stalled on Friday night due to a £4-5million loyalty bonus that the player felt he was due from Old Trafford chiefs.
Jadon Sancho could follow in Marcus Rashford’s footsteps by joining Aston Villa on loan with hours left in the window.
Villa Park chiefs have made contact with Sancho’s camp over personal terms but there is no agreement yet on either.
Sancho has one year left on his United deal.
Sancho, 25, seems the most likely Bomb Squad member to stay at the moment due to his outrageous £350,000-per-week wages.
7
Injuries to Matheus Cunha and Mason Mount have hit Kobbie Mainoo‘s slim chances of being allowed to leave United today.
The Red Devils were not willing to let him leave on loan anyway.
But the first half injury blows against Burnley have only hardened their resolve.
7
United are waiting for a suitable loan offer from LaLiga side Elche for left-back Tyrell Malacia, but it looks set to happen today.
Malacia enjoyed a loan spell at PSV last season where he won the Dutch league.
7
Sheffield Wednesday are in talks with United over a move for left-back Harry Amass.
United will consider a straight season-long loan as Amass, 18, is still seen as one for the future.
7
7
TRANSFER DEADLINE DAY LIVE – KEEP UP WITH ALL THE LATEST AS THE CLOCK TICKS
The afternoon sun glimmered off the ocean as I drove down MacArthur Boulevard in Newport Beach to fulfill a promise.
This September marks five years since I debuted as a columnist for The Times. My first dispatch was from the mausoleum niche at Pacific View Memorial Park that holds the cremains of one of my predecessors, Ruben Salazar.
Exactly 55 years ago, Salazar was killed in an East Los Angeles bar by a tear gas canister launched by an L.A. County sheriff’s deputy that tore through his head. He was one of three people who died that day during the Chicano Moratorium, a rally against the Vietnam War that out-of-control cops turned into a melee.
Salazar was only eight months into his columnist gig. He was a well-respected Times veteran who had done stints covering immigration, as a foreign correspondent and Metro reporter for the paper. Once he got a Friday slot on the op-ed page at the start of 1970, the journalist became a must-read chronicler of the Chicano experience.
In death, Salazar became immortal. Murals of him sprang up around the Southwest. Wearing a suit jacket and tie, with a full head of hair and a confident look on his face, he symbolized the potential and peril of being a Mexican American in the United States. Even as the decades passed, and his clips were relegated to archives and the memories of those who had read him in real time, Salazar has thankfully yet to fade from L.A.’s physical and spiritual landscape.
A high school is named after him in Pico Rivera, as are Salazar Park in East L.A. and Salazar Hall at Cal State L.A. The U.S. Postal Service sells stamps with his likeness.
United Teachers Los Angeles gives out a scholarship in his name, just like the National Assn. of Hispanic Journalists. The nonprofit CCNMA: Latino Journalists of California honors reporters who cover Latinos with the annual Ruben Salazar Awards, handing out medallions bearing his image.
When I visited Salazar’s final resting place in 2020, I brought a bottle of Manzanilla to toast the hard-charging bon vivant’s memory and ask for his blessing in my new role. I promised to visit and offer an update about my career every year near the anniversary of his death … but, well, the job got in the way.
A historic pandemic. The storming of the U.S. Capitol. A racist audio leak scandal that upended L.A. City Hall. Corrupt politicians. Increasing poverty. The rise, fall and return of Donald Trump. Horrible fires. A cruel deportation deluge. I’ve barely had time to spend with friends and family, let alone an afternoon driving to a far-off cemetery for a few minutes with a long-gone man I had never met.
For 2025, there would be no excuses. Because in a year that seems to get worse by the day, we need to remember Salazar more than ever.
A painting of former Los Angeles Times journalist Ruben Salazar and a copy of his last column, published on Aug. 28, 1970, the day before he died, are on display inside Ruben Salazar Hall on the campus of Cal State Los Angeles.
(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
Every time my Times colleagues report from a protest, I invoke Salazar’s name in my prayers to God that He watch over them. Our profession faces existential threats — and I’m not just talking finances.
The Trump administration has pursued scorched-earth campaigns against news organizations it doesn’t like with lawsuits and funding cuts, while limiting access to mainstream reporters in favor of sycophantic press coverage. Journalists have suffered injuries at the hands of LAPD officers while covering this summer’s anti-migra protests, from being struck with less-lethal projectiles to getting smacked with batons.
The climate against my profession is so ugly that the L.A. County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a motion this month requiring the Sheriff’s Department to send them a report about what training, if any, deputies receive on allowing reporters to do their jobs during protests. Supervisor Hilda Solis, who authored the motion, cited Salazar as an impetus, calling his killing “one of the most painful chapters in Los Angeles County history.”
She also described him as “a crucial voice for the Latino community, dedicated to covering stories that mainstream outlets often ignored” — a legacy that all Latino reporters at The Times must try and live up to. So every time I open my laptop to start my next columna, I ask myself:
What would Ruben write?
That Salazar died in the course of doing his job has sadly eclipsed what he actually wrote, so I always encourage people to read his columns. The Times republished them online for the 50th anniversary of his death, so there’s no excuse not to familiarize yourself with his work. It would have seamlessly fit into this hell year — the 1970 in his columnas reads eerily similar to what we’re going through right now.
Immigration raids were terrorizing Los Angeles. Democrats were still lost after suffering a historic beatdown from a once-defeated Republican presidential candidate. Young progressives were disgusted with their moderate Democratic elders and tiring of the party altogether. Latinos were pushing for more political power. A redistricting battle in California was about to explode. The rise of computers was upending life. Politicians were going after nonprofits they accused of fomenting wokosos.
And there was Salazar, covering every development and hero and villain with crisp columns that got better with every month. All of this at just 42, four years younger than I am today.
I think he would have been thrilled to see regular people filming the cruelties of la migra as a counternarrative to the lies of the Trump administration. He would have urged young reporters who believe in so-called movement journalism — unapologetically leftist, with talking to the other side considered unnecessary and even immoral — to not let their biases get in the way of a good story.
I know he wouldn’t have been lionized the way he is today. In a June 19, 1970 columna, he antagonized the left by describing the pachucos of a previous generation as “anarchistic.” In the same column, he angered the right, arguing that because of programs such as Head Start and Chicano studies, gang members were “experiencing a social revolution and so is learning and liking political power.”
And that’s what makes Salazar more important today than ever.
He wanted Chicanos to better themselves, so he wasn’t afraid to call out their failures. He was skeptical of our legal system but wanted it to succeed — “A Beautiful Sight: the System Working the Way It Should” was the title of a July 24, 1970, column about the federal grand jury indictment of seven Los Angeles Police Department officers in the deaths of two unarmed Mexican immigrants.
As an immigrant himself, he loved a United States he had no problem criticizing. For his sole Fourth of July column, he urged people to tone down their pomp and circumstance and to relate to their fellow Americans rather than “to fixed ideas that apparently are not working.”
To paraphrase a 2014 PBS documentary about his life, Salazar was a man in the middle. His business was truth-telling for the greater cause of a just society. He literally lost his life for it. The least we can do is follow his example.
A bronze marker hangs outside the niche that holds the cremains of former L.A. Times columnist Ruben Salazar, who was killed in East L.A. on Aug. 29, 1970, while reporting on the Chicano Moratorium, a protest against the involvement of Chicanos in the Vietnam War.
(Gustavo Arellano / Los Angles Times)
No one was around when I finally got to Salazar’s niche, in a section of the cemetery called the Alcove of Time. A simple bronze plaque included the accent over the “e” in “Rubén,” which his Times byline never had. Instead of Spanish wine, I brought a flask of mezcal — I don’t think he would have minded the stiffer drink in this 2025.
I thanked Salazar again for his work — I learn more from it every time I read it. I told him about some of the columnas I’ve published and those I want to do. I shared how there are far more Latino reporters at The Times and beyond, but still not nearly enough. I apologized for not visiting more often and swore to never stop talking about him and his words.
“To you, Ruben,” I quietly said. I hoisted my flask in the air, took a small swig and splashed some in front of where he rested.
I made the sign of the cross, offered a short prayer, then drove back home. Another columna loomed. I’m sure Salazar would have understood and hopefully would have been proud.
MANCHESTER UNITED have agreed a deal to sell Alejandro Garnacho to Chelsea.
The Red Devils have sanctioned an exit for the wantaway winger worth £40million.
1
Garnacho, 21, will join the Blues on a reported seven-year contract after waiting for a move to materialise all summer.
The Argentine had been pushing for an exit after falling down the pecking order under boss Ruben Amorim.
MORE TO FOLLOW…
THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY..
The Sun is your go to destination for the best football, boxing and MMA news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video.Like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TheSunFootball and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheSunFootball.
MANCHESTER United fans and neutrals alike have revisited a video of Jose Mourinho from last year as evidence that he could be on his way back to Old Trafford.
The tongue-in-cheek comments about a return on social media come off the back of the Red Devils’ embarrassing Carabao Cup exit to League Two outfit Grimsby on Wednesday.
4
4
4
4
The iconic manager made comments last October hinting that he would be open to a return to a bottom-half Premier League side, after his Fenerbahce side secured a draw in the Europa League AGAINST Man Utd.
He told the press: “The best thing I have to do is – when I leave Fenerbahce – I go to a club that doesn’t play Uefa competitions.
“So if any club in England, from the bottom of the table, needs coach in two years – I am ready to go.
Fans across the English game this window have jumped on the bandwagon, with Leeds, West Ham, Wolves and Utd fans all linking themselves to the manager through the video on social media.
One United fan succinctly commented on the post: “So Mourinho is going back to Man Utd, innit?”
Fans are split on the Portuguese, who already spent two years at the helm at Old Trafford between 2016-18, but at least some of the Red Devils faithful would be open to the move.
Speaking on the players, one X user commented: “None of them can manage the pressure and the culture of winning. We just need Jose Mourinho back.”
Fans of other clubs have also been circling around the old clip as it circulates on X.
CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS
One Leeds fan commented:” “I don’t care if he got us relegated, this needs to happen.”
A Hammers fan added: “Feel like Mourinho and West Ham would be pure entertainment. Let it happen, fate.”
MANCHESTER UNITED are at rock bottom after the biggest cup upset saw the club crash out of the Carabao Cup second-round to League Two Grimsby Town on penalties.
Ruben Amorim’s United lost to a four-tier side for the first time ever.
The home fans sang “you’re getting sacked in the morning” to Amorim throughout and you can’t help but wonder if they’re right.
Here’s how SunSport’s Katherine Walsh rated United’s flops at Blundell Park.
The beloved maverick was even linked with the Nottingham Forest job last week after news emerged of Nuno Espirito Santo‘s falling out with the club.
The 62-year-old’s CV includes spells at Chelsea, Real Madrid and Inter Milan, becoming one of the sport’s most successful managers.
He is currently causing his signature chaos as manager of Turkish giants Fenerbahce.
Amorim spoke in the summer about how emotional he gets on occasion. He vowed to be less forthright during his media commitments.
Some sympathy also has to be offered for the fact he was having to speak on the pitch with the backdrop of still gleeful Grimsby fans telling him he was going to be “sacked in the morning”.
Yet Amorim’s words do not smack of a renewed determination to deliver success to Old Trafford, just as his actions during the shootout did not give the impression of someone leading from the front.
And that is a problem.
For United’s restructure has been built around his famed system.
While it is fair to say Jadon Sancho and Antony did not have many supporters among the United fanbase and patience with Marcus Rashford was also wearing thin, those players’ values has reduced as the club have looked to move them on because Amorim does not play with conventional wide-men.
Amorim had been praised by some for his hardline stance with Alejandro Garnacho, and the Argentina international’s behaviour since he was exiled has not done him many favours.
But it is not that long ago that Garnacho, now in talks with Chelsea, was viewed as the future of United.
The same is also true of England international Kobbie Mainoo, who feels marginalised to such an extent that if a decent offer came in for him from a club he liked, he would be willing to leave, despite being a local boy and a childhood United fan.
Given a start at Grimsby after not playing for a single minute in the opening two Premier League games, Mainoo was left on for the full 90 minutes.
He didn’t produce a display that demanded repeated selection. But neither was he the worst player on the pitch.
To many, if the system is the reason why 20-year-old Mainoo may leave, the system needs changing. Amorim has said Mainoo is in contention with skipper Bruno Fernandes for a starting spot in the league.
The United boss felt his method of playing at Sporting, with three central defenders, two wing-backs, two central midfielders, two number 10s and a central striker, was the reason for his success.
This may be true. He was also at a club famed for developing highly talented young players in a league far less physically demanding than he has encountered in England, and where the competition, other than a couple of notable exceptions in Benfica and Porto, is typically limited.
On Sunday at Fulham, Silva explained clearly the tweak to his side’s formation that allowed Fulham to take control of the midfield area and turn a game that had threatened to get away from them in the early stages.
The game didn’t race away from Fulham because United failed to take their chances, a problem that Amorim repeatedly complained about last season.
This is why he spent £200m on attacking players this summer.
Matheus Cunha has looked a decent buy. If the Brazilian had converted his spot-kick in the shootout at Grimsby, United’s blushes would have been spared.
Yet his shot was saved, Bryan Mbeumo missed the decisive penalty, and it was surprising to many that Benjamin Sesko – the third of the expensive attacking additions – was the last outfield player to step forward for United.
There would still have been big questions to answer if Amorim’s side had managed to sneak through to round three.
At clubs like United, performances like this do not get brushed under the carpet. The noise around them is too loud for that to happen.
Amorim will speak to the media on Friday on the eve of his team’s home game against Burnley. Victory against the Clarets will be expected but it certainly is not guaranteed.
Beyond that, no-one can be sure what the future looks like for United.
Manchester United manager Ruben Amorin says his side “could have done better” after taking the lead during a 1-1 draw with Fulham in the Premier League.
READ MORE: Fulham 1-1 Manchester United
Watch Premier League highlights on BBC iPlayer
Available to UK users only.
Manchester City defender Ruben Dias has signed a two-year contract extension.
The 28-year-old’s previous deal had been set to expire in 2027 but his new deal will take him to 2029, with the option of a further 12 months.
The Portugal international joined City from Benfica for a fee of £65m in 2020 and was named Premier League player of the year at the end of his first season.
The defender has helped City to four league titles, the Champions League, the EFL Cup and the FA Cup during his five years at Etihad Stadium.
“I am incredibly happy today,” said Dias.
“I love Manchester – it is my home now – and I love the Manchester City fans.
“When I think about the trophies we have won and the way we have played our football during my time here, I couldn’t imagine playing anywhere else.”
MANCHESTER UNITED’S ‘Kid-Messi’ wonderkid JJ Gabriel is set to train with Ruben Amorim’s first team at times this season.
At 14 years old, Gabriel is too young to feature in the FA Youth Cup despite becoming the youngest ever player to feature for the Under-18s.
2
The forward will not be 15 years old until October, but is already the talk of Old Trafford and beyond with his fast-tracked displays.
This season’s Youth Cup players have to be born before the cut-off date of 31 August 2010, with Kai Rooney eligible to feature.
Gabriel committed his future to United for at the least the next two years and has been tipped by insiders to become their youngest EVER Premier League player.
He is so highly rated that technical director Jason Wilcox and director of football Matt Hargreaves played active roles in keeping him at the club.
Gabriel, who isn’t even in his GCSE year at school, was handed his first U18 start in Saturday’s 1-0 win at Everton, outperforming players who were mostly older and bigger.
United invited Gabriel to watch Sunday’s 1-0 defeat to Arsenal in the directors’ box, following the teenager’s decision to stay amid interest from Europe‘s biggest clubs.
He was then pictured with Amorim at Carrington on Thursday, with his family also introduced to the United boss.
The Portuguese gaffer, 40, will start working with Gabriel as he will be drafted into the first team group at times throughout the season.
While it’s not unusual for academy players to train with the big boys, it is rare for the youngest players to get the nod.
Gabriel made his debut for the U18s at the beginning of April and scored twice from the bench in a 13-1 hammering of Leeds.
That match saw him become the youngest ever player to feature for the U18s, with club legend Darren Fletcher in charge of his development.
He made a further two appearances for the U18s before the end of the season and scored again, while also featuring for England‘s Under-15s.
Shooting to stardom under the name ‘Kid Messi’ on YouTube five years ago, the schoolboy signed a lucrative deal with Nike in February.
Gabriel, whose full name is Joseph Junior Andreou Gabriel, was born in London and is the son of former Republic of Ireland defender Joe O’Cearuill, who spent most of his career playing non-League after starting out at Watford and Arsenal.
2
Amorim could be excused for thinking someone is having a cruel joke at his expense when he assesses an opening that starts with Arsenal at Old Trafford, includes a trip to Manchester City and home game with Chelsea in United’s first five games, and then Liverpool at Anfield in match eight on 18 October.
By that point, it will almost be 12 months since the dismissal of Ten Hag and assessments will be being made about what has changed.
And that is the rub.
United, led by chief executive Omar Berrada, went for an imaginative choice rather than the safe options – which included Marco Silva, Thomas Frank and Graham Potter – suggested by then sporting director Dan Ashworth as Ten Hag’s replacement.
Amorim came to prominence at Sporting by delivering outstanding results with a specific formation. Three central defenders, wing-backs and two inside forwards behind a number nine. The immediate collateral damage in shaping a United squad to fit that system was the discarding of five players – four of whom are senior internationals who prefer to play wide.
The full extent of the additional impact Amorim has made by bringing in Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko, at a combined cost in the region of £200m, to fill the attacking roles remains to be seen.
However, the intention is for skipper Fernandes to play deeper in one of the two midfield slots. How much meaningful time on the pitch is afforded to England duo Mason Mount and Kobbie Mainoo, whose contract stand-off remains unresolved, is open to question.
At the back, team selections in five unbeaten games in three countries across pre-season, suggest Harry Maguire and Matthijs de Ligt are battling for a single slot as the middle defender, while Luke Shaw and Lisandro Martinez, when fit, are vying to be first choice on the left of the three.
De Ligt has proved adept at moving into midfield when United’s keeper has the ball. This, Amorim reasons, clears the space for his side to get possession into the areas of the field where they can cause more damage. Fernandes’ task, in Amorim’s ideal world, is to get on the ball as often as possible, and then make the right decisions.
It’s all very technical. In theory, it also provides support in midfield, which tended to be completely overrun during Ten Hag’s time because the Dutchman wanted to stretch the space in that area of the field, something Casemiro was not able to do, while none of those asked to partner him made a particular success of either.
Casemiro’s game intelligence, his ability to read situations and the Brazilian’s calmness under pressure brought him back into favour under Amorim towards the end of last season.
The 33-year-old does not have limitless energy but he was preferred to Christian Eriksen, who was about to leave the club, and, more significantly, Manuel Ugarte, who cost £50.8m to sign from PSG less than 12 months ago, for the Europa League final against Tottenham in May, which United lost.
It seems Amorim regards finding an upgrade in this area of the pitch to be more of a priority than replacing goalkeeper Andre Onana.
That Amorim talks a good game is not in question. Now his team have to deliver.
The target is clear. Amorim has said European qualification is the aim. His players have said the same. More importantly, a financial outlook provided for the club by an external agency spoke about delivering a place in the Europa League at the end of this season as a stepping stone to a return to the Champions League in 2027-28.
It would be unfair to judge United’s season on one game, or even eight looking at that fixture list. But, as Amorim has previously said, he used up a lot of goodwill from the stands last season.
He promised this season will be better. It has to be.
