Manchester United's stock climbs after football club fires manager Ruben Amorim

By Weston Blasi

United now seeks its seventh full-time manager since the legendary Alex Ferguson retired in 2013

Former Manchester United head coach Amorim is out one day after he made provocative comments about club's structure.

Shares of Manchester United Ltd. rose 1.4% on Monday after the English soccer club announced that manager Ruben Amorim has been fired after just over a year at the helm.

"With Manchester United sitting sixth in the Premier League, the club's leadership has reluctantly made the decision that it is the right time to make a change," United said in a statement on Monday morning. "This will give the team the best opportunity of the highest possible Premier League finish."

Manchester United (MANU) announced Amorim's time was up at the club less than 24 hours after he made provocative comments about his position within United's hierarchy.

"I came here to be the manager of Manchester United, not to be the coach of Manchester United, and that is clear," the former Portuguese international Amorim, 40, said Sunday at a press conference, after his team drew 1-1 with Leeds United, promoted just last year to the Premier League from the Championship. "I'm not going to quit. I will do my job until another guy is coming here to replace me."

The club's youth coach, former United midfielder Darren Fletcher, will take charge in time for a match at Burnley on Wednesday. The top job at United has become one of the most difficult in world soccer since the legendary Alex Ferguson's retirement, in 2013, after 27 years at the helm, with the club now on the hunt for its seventh permanent selection since.

Amorim departs with a lot of money owed to him on his contract with United. Per TalkSport, Amorim was owed GBP10.05 million ($13.6 million) on his deal, and the club owes or has already paid a total of GBP27.35 million ($37.04 million) since his appointment in November 2024.

United - one of the most valuable sports brands in the world at an estimated $6.6 billion - currently sits sixth in the 20-team Premier League, England's top professional soccer league, with the top four or possibly five finishers in line to qualify for the lucrative UEFA Champions League competition.

Temporary upticks in shares of Manchester United Ltd. have followed club moved both on and off the pitch in recent years. The stock climbed after the club hired Amorim in 2024, when the club was taken over by Ineos's Jim Ratcliffe earlier that year and when it welcomed back club legend Cristiano Ronaldo in 2021.

Manchester United is one of several global soccer clubs trades on a stock exchange, along with Italy's Juventus (IT:JUVE) and Germany's Borussia Dortmund (XE:BVB).

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Shares of Manchester United are up 3.6% over the last three months but are down 4.6% over the last 12 months.

Revenue for the club was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis to GBP140.3 million ($190.04 million) for its first fiscal quarter, through September. "Total operating expenses fell roughly 7% year on year, underscoring the club's focus on cost discipline," Jefferies analysts said of the earnings.

Analysts highlighted retail and merchandising sales increases (up 11%) and headcount reductions as reasons for improved margins and investor optimism.

-Weston Blasi

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