Man United vs. AC Milan: Ex-Red Devils head coach Ruben Amorim set for reunion in pre-season clash

Ahead of Manchester United's pre-season friendly with AC Milan, Sports Mole's Football Editor Matt Law discusses the match, which will see current I Rossoneri boss Ruben Amorim take on his former club.

Matt Law, Football Editor: "The AC Milan job is a big one"

His record at Sporting Lisbon stands at a 71% win rate across 231 games. His win rate at Manchester United was 38.1%, with 24 wins, 18 draws and 21 defeats across 63 games. 

United finishing 15th in the 2024/25 Premier League season under Amorim remains one of the worst results in the post-Ferguson era. United fans were patient, as patient as they could be, but the system simply did not work. 

Amorim was backed into a corner where he either had to abandon his own identity as a manager by changing the system, or stick with it and accept the inevitable outcome. 

The AC Milan job is a big one, and if it goes wrong, questions will arise about where he goes from there. He is still young enough and is clearly a good coach with good ideas, and at the right club those ideas will work. 

Whether he would stay at Sporting Lisbon with hindsight is a fair question, but nobody in his position could have turned down Manchester United. He is a good manager for the right club. 

The question of whether he will do well at Milan is more uncertain. The Milan squad is more suited to his formation than the United one was, but uncertainty remains. 

Milan spent big money on Ramos from Paris Saint-Germain this summer. There will be huge pressure on the player to deliver, and on Amorim to make it work. 

Rafael Leao is out of the match through injury and has been linked with a move away from the club. Luka Modric is in midfield. 

Milan have a lot of good players, but it is hard to see Amorim having a massive impact given his recent struggles. His confidence will have taken a knock, whatever he says publicly. 

The United fans stuck with him for as long as they could, and he acknowledged that publicly, but ultimately the spell was unsuccessful. This is a fascinating juncture in his career. 

He clearly wanted to do well at United, and the feeling is that things simply did not go the way he expected. There is no ill will, and the hope is that he goes on to have a really good managerial career. 

In a few months, Milan could be asking questions about whether he is the right man.