Zinedine Zidane has two ‘demands’ if he is to replace Ruben Amorim as manager of Manchester United. Ruben Amorim was sacked as United boss on Monday after 14 months at the helm. – We at Sporten.com believe Ole Gunnar Solskjær is the right man to take over, but we will admit it is great with “Zizou” as well.
Ruben Amorim leaves Old Trafford in sixth place in the Premier League table.
After Sunday’s 1-1 draw away to arch-rivals Leeds, Amorim told reporters that he had agreed to be ‘a manager, not a coach’ when he first joined United. Yet, in their official club statement confirming his departure, United referred to him as head coach – a job title he has held since taking over.
U-18 coach Darren Fletcher will take temporary charge of the club following Amorim’s departure.
According to BBC Sport, United plan to hire an interim manager – who will not be Fletcher – for the rest of the season, before hiring a permanent successor to Amorim in the summer.
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Oliver Glasner, Enzo Maresca and Gareth Southgate are among the favourites to replace Amorim on a permanent basis.
All three will be advantageous appointments for United and minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, as Maresca – who left Chelsea on New Year’s Day – and former England boss Southgate are both out of work.
Glasner, on the other hand, is in the final six months of his contract at Crystal Palace and United will not have to pay significant compensation – on top of what they already owe Amorim and have already paid to sack Erik ten Hag – to bring him in.
Another option could be Zidane, who has been out of work since leaving Real Madrid for the second time in 2021.
Ahead of a charity match in November, Zidane told reporters that he would be back in leadership ‘very soon’.
He has been heavily linked with replacing Didier Deschamps as manager of the French national team when Deschamps retires after the 2026 World Cup.
However, a club role could still be attractive, and L’Equipe claimed in 2024 that he was unsure of potentially being considered for the job at Bayern Munich, as he preferred the prospect of taking over at Old Trafford.
Zidane has previously stated that his lack of English skills would prevent him from leading in the Premier League, but his close friend and former national team colleague Emmanuel Petit claimed in 2021 that he had started learning the language.
In October 2024, Petit said that Zidane would make two demands on Manchester United if he was approached to take over as manager.
The former Arsenal midfielder explained: “At the moment, the environment at Manchester United for years has not been good.”
“The stability on the bench, the level of the players as well, the expectations of the club are not the same as they used to be.”
“United is still a huge club, but no longer on the pitch.”
“And Zizou is very conscious and very careful about it, the quality of the players… if he takes the job at Manchester United, it means he has solutions.”
