- Amorim will officially take over as Man United’s new head coach on November 11
- Ex-Man United winger Nani featured against Amorim’s Sporting side on Friday
- LISTEN NOW: It’s All Kicking Off!, available wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes every Monday and Thursday
Nani has delivered his assessment of Ruben Amorim as the Sporting Lisbon boss prepares to follow his path from the Portuguese giants to Manchester United.
Amorim was officially announced as Man United‘s new head coach on Friday, with the 39-year-old old taking up the position during the international break on November 11.
The confirmation came after a week of negotiations between the two clubs, as Man United acted quickly after sacking manager Erik ten Hag.
As part of the agreement Amorim would remain in charge of three final Sporting matches, including crucial clashes with Man City in the Champions League and Braga in the Portuguese top flight.
The first match came on Friday night with Sporting earning a dominant 5-1 win over Estrela Amadora, whose team featured former Man United star Nani.
Nani, now 37, has offered his backing for Amorim to achieve success at Man United after praising his ‘excellent job’ at Sporting.
‘All I can say is good luck,’ Nani told Sport TV.
‘He has done an excellent job at Sporting, and I hope he can do the same at United, which is a great club, one of the best clubs in the world.
‘I think he is in a great place; he will have the chance with excellent players to deliver a strong response, as he has all the conditions to do so.’
Nani received an ovation from the Sporting fans when he came on as a second half substitute for Estrela, his hometown club.
The winger had come through Sporting’s academy and played 136 times for the first team, scoring 31 goals, before moving to Man United for a reported £21m fee in 2007.
Nani joined United in 2007 from Sporting Lisbon and went on to spend eight years at Old Trafford. During this time he won four Premier League titles, two League Cups, the Champions League and the Club World Cup.
After leaving United in 2015, he had spells at Fenerbahce, Valencia and Lazio before moving to the US to play for Orlando City.
A return to Italy followed as he joined Venezia prior to transfers to Melbourne Victory and Adana Demirspor.
Amorim will make the same move as Nani from Sporting to Man United and the pair were seen in a warm embrace on the touchline following Friday’s match.
Former Man United defender Rio Ferdinand revealed earlier this week that Nani had also given him more insight on Amorim.
‘I spoke to Nani actually the other day and he said “Rio, whatever you want to talk about, tactics or whatever, the players play for him, they love him and they respect him”,’ Ferdinand said in a video posted on X.
‘One of the issues I think with Erik ten Hag and what he [Nani] said about Amorim is he’s very straight, very straight and very direct.
‘From what I’m hearing, I’m talking to people that have played for [him] but also been around [him] as a human, I think the character and the charisma compared to Erik ten Hag will be the big differentiator, will be the big difference.’
Amorim, who has signed a two-and-a-half year deal at Man United, admitted post match that over the course of three days he was left to make what he feels is the biggest decision of his career to date.
‘I was told it was now or never. I had three days to make my mind up,’ he said.
‘A decision that would radically change my life. I’ve had other opportunities. The president and [Hugo] Viana can confirm this. This is not the first or second time I have been requested.
‘After Sporting, I wanted Manchester. There’s a time I have to take a step forward. It was hard. I had to do this.
‘I don’t want to victimise myself. The only one in no-man’s land was me. I didn’t say it before because it had to be agreed between the clubs.’
