MANCHESTER, United Kingdom (AFP) — Ruben Amorim was sacked by Manchester United on Monday, bringing a dramatic end to his turbulent spell as manager of the struggling Premier League giants.

The dismissal of the Portuguese follows growing tensions between Amorim and the Old Trafford hierarchy, including director of football Jason Wilcox, in recent days.

The club, sixth in the Premier League after a 1-1 draw at Leeds on Sunday, issued a statement saying Amorim had “departed his role as head coach of Manchester United”.

“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,” the club said.

“This will give the team the best opportunity of the highest possible Premier League finish.

“The club would like to thank Ruben for his contribution to the club and wishes him well for the future.”

Current under-18s coach Darren Fletcher will take charge of the team against struggling Burnley on Wednesday.

Amorim was fired less than 24 hours after making a string of eye-catching comments at Elland Road, where he stressed he was United’s manager rather than “just the coach”, having hinted at frustration behind the scenes on Friday.

The Portuguese told the scouting department and Wilcox “to do their job” during a blockbuster end to a post-match press conference that raised major doubts over his future.

Amorim repeatedly suggested to the media that he would leave when his contract expired in 18 months’ time.

But reports said United’s decision to axe their manager was due to the lack of evolution and progress during his 14-month tenure rather than a power struggle.

It is a dismal end to the reign of Amorim, who won just 25 of his 63 games at the helm in all competitions.

In the Premier League, he had the worst win ratio (32 percent), the worst goals-conceded-per-game ratio (1.53) and the lowest clean-sheet ratio (15 per cent) of any United manager.

Amorim arrived at Old Trafford to replace Erik ten Hag in November 2024 as one of the most sought-after coaches in world football following a successful stint at Sporting Lisbon, where he won two league titles.

But he struggled badly in his first season in charge as United slumped to a 15th-place finish in the Premier League — their worst campaign for 51 years.

Amorim led the team to the Europa League final in Bilbao in May but they lost to Tottenham, meaning they missed out on European football this season.

United have made marginal improvements during the current campaign but have been inconsistent, winning just eight of their 20 league games so far, and are 17 points behind leaders Arsenal.

Amorim’s stint is the shortest reign of a permanent manager at United since David Moyes was sacked just eight months into his tenure in 2014.

The club, 20-time English champions, have not won the Premier League since 2013, in Alex Ferguson’s final season in charge.

Former United midfielder Fletcher was the club’s technical director between 2021 and 2024, but he has never held a senior coaching position.