Manchester United coach Ruben Amorim has responded to harsh criticism from former Portugal teammate Cristiano Ronaldo by urging fans and pundits alike to look forward rather than dwell on the past.
Ronaldo, who won eight titles at United, told Piers Morgan in an interview this week that United are “not on a good path” and warned that Amorim “will not do miracles” at Old Trafford.
The 40-year-old Al-Nasr striker said: “We say in Portugal that miracles only happen in Fatima,” adding that the Manchester club lacks a long-term vision.
Amorim, who took over from Erik Ten Hag in November 2024, responded ahead of Saturday’s Premier League match against Tottenham Hotspur.
“Of course he had a lot of influence in everything he said,” Amorim said Thursday. “What we need to focus on is the future. We know that as a club we have made a lot of mistakes in the past, but we are trying to change that. So let’s not focus on what happened. Let’s focus (on) what we are doing now.
“We change a lot of things in the structure, the way we do things, the way we want players to behave. We are doing it and improving.”
Ronaldo expressed his sadness over the club’s decline, but insisted that the problems go beyond the coach.
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“You have to work with smart people to create a foundation for the future,” he said. “Right now, they don’t have a structure.”
United showed signs of improvement, rising to eighth place, two points behind second place, after four matches without defeat.
A temporary second place in the table became up for grabs on Saturday in a grudge match for the Amorim side after Tottenham beat them 1-0 in last season’s Europa League final to prevent the Red Devils from playing in the Champions League this season.
Amorim credited internal reforms for this transformation.
He said: “The characteristics of the players in the team are different now.” “We also have players who played last year. But we are a better team. We understand the game better. We are more confident.”
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“We reached the Europa League final and we are confident that we can win it. But at this moment we are playing with a different confidence.”
Amorim added that there is a positive side to the absence of European football this season.
“We use the positives,” he said. “Any situation you face in life, you can look at it in a positive or bad way.
“If you asked me if I would prefer to stay here in the Europa League and Champions League, I might say yes.
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“But on the other hand, you have more time to train and know your players. Arrange everything and prepare with the technical staff and the players. So we are trying to take advantage of the positive thing of not playing in midweek matches.”
(Tags for translation)Manchester United
