Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim admitted the club “made a lot of mistakes” in the past but urged everyone to focus on the future after Cristiano Ronaldo suggested he could not “do miracles” with the current squad.
In a wide-ranging interview with Piers Morgan earlier this week, Ronaldo, who won eight major trophies during his two spells at Old Trafford, said that while he believed Amorim was doing a good jobthe Portuguese coach would struggle without proper structural support from the club.
“In Portugal we say that miracles only happen in Fatima,” said the 40-year-old striker Al-Nassr. “United are not on the right track. Amorim won’t do miracles because they don’t have the structure. You have to work with smart people to create a base for the future.”
The former Manchester United and Real Madrid forward, who shared the national dressing room with Amorim for Portugal, added that the problems at Old Trafford go deeper than coaching.
“While some players are good, others don’t have the mind of a player of this club,” Ronaldo said. “You have to work with smart people to create a foundation for the future. Right now, they don’t have any structure.”
Ronaldo also expressed his sadness at what he called United’s “decline”, warning that the club lacked a long-term vision and that Amorim could not be expected to fix everything overnight.
Speaking to the media ahead of United’s Premier League trip to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday (1230 GMT), Amorim chose not to respond directly to Ronaldo’s remarks but made it clear: the past cannot be changed and the club’s energy must now be directed towards progress.
“He (Ronaldo) knows he has a huge impact on everything he says,” Amorim said on Thursday. “We know we made a lot of mistakes as a club in the past. We’re trying to change that. Let’s not focus on what happened (in the past). “We’re changing a lot of things; the structure, the way we do things, the way we want the players to behave. We are improving. Let’s forget a bit about the past.”
Amorim, who replaced Erik ten Haga in November 2024, has a period of gradual stabilization behind him. United have shown signs of progress under his leadership, climbing to eighth in the Premier League after a four-game unbeaten run – just two points off second.
With provisional second place up for grabs on Saturday, Amorim’s side will be looking for revenge against Spurs, who beat them 1-0 in last season’s Europa League final, a result that cost United a Champions League place.
The United boss credited the improved performances this season to the club’s internal reforms.
“The characteristics of the players are different in the team now,” Amorim said. “We also have players who played last year. But we are a better team. We understand the game better. We are more confident.
“We went into the Europa League final confident that we could win it. But at the moment we are playing with a different confidence.”
Amorim also reflected on the benefits of not having European football this season, insisting his team are using the extra time to build stronger foundations.
“We’re the ones taking advantage of the positives,” he said. “You can look at any situation in life positively or negatively. If you ask me if I’d rather be here with football (the Europa League) and the Champions League, I’d say yes. But on the other hand, you have more time to train and know your players. Set everything up and prepare with the staff and the players. So we’re trying to use the positive that we’re not playing midweek games.”
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Issued by:
Saurabh Kumar
Published on:
November 7, 2025
