‘There was a coldness about him’: Rio Ferdinand reacts to Ruben Amorim’s sacking as Manchester United manager

Manchester United's head coach Ruben Amorim reacts after Leicester's Bobby Decordova-Reid scored the opening goal during the English FA Cup fourth round soccer match between Manchester United and Leicester City at the Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson, file)

Former Manchester defender Rio Ferdinand admitted that he did not expect Ruben Amorim to be sacked as the manager in the morning, but admitted that he was not surprised by the decision to sack him on Monday. The Portuguese manager was sacked by the club on Monday, after 14 months in charge, with Darren Fletcher becoming the interim manager for the next Premier League match against Burnley on Wednesday.

“I didn’t anticipate this when I woke up this morning that Ruben Amorim would be one of the guys that would be getting the sack. When you look at his record in black and white, I’m not surprised, which is weird, and it sounds weird when I say that,” Ferdinand said on his YouTube channel on Monday.

Ferdinand revealed that he had met Amorim a few days back, adding that he felt a bit cold after meeting him and feeling that something was not right in the club over the last few weeks.

“When I went there the last time, I noticed immediately that there was a coldness about him. There was a real difference to what I’d seen before. He was just really just a very different human being.”

“Now looking back with hindsight, this has been cooking since before Christmas, 100%,” Ferdinand said.

Following Amorim’s exit, United appointed former midfielder Fletcher, who has been in charge of the Under-18s, as the interim manager. Ferdinand approved of his appointment, adding that he wanted the club hierarchy to make it harder to choose the next permanent manager.

“I’m really excited to see him, I mean the Man Utd [ex-players] WhatsApp group is popping off as you can imagine with congratulations and good luck messages to Fletch.”

“I wish him well. Darren Fletcher, he’s had some big, big moments in his career and he’s also had some turmoil in his life with his health.”

“One thing we will do is he’ll take counsel. He’ll lean on people. I’m sure one of his first phone calls will be Sir Alex Ferguson – followed by myself. But he will ask those questions. He’s got humility.

“If I was a betting man, I’d say he’ll do a good enough job. I want him to make it difficult for the hierarchy to make a decision on the next manager – on the next coach. Because that’s obviously the question everyone’s asking,” he said.