Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim has claimed that the Red Devils are missing “leaders” and “some crazy guys”, with the team again struggling at the start of the 2025-26 campaign.
Despite bringing in new players during the summer transfer window, the 20-time English champions have lost four of their seven matches in all competitions this season, and they are down in 14th spot in the Premier League table.
United have picked up only seven points from their first six games and Amorim’s ability to lead the team have been called into question.
There are reports Amorim needs to prove himself after October international break or he’ll be shown the exit door.
Man United suffered a 3-1 defeat to Brentford in the Premier League last weekend, and the Red Devils will be back in action against Sunderland in England’s top flight on Saturday afternoon.
Amorim has claimed that his club are missing “leaders” and also “some crazy guys”.
Ruben Amorim walks with the team over to the fans after their Premier League defeat to Brentford. (Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)
“We need leaders, but sometimes what I am thinking is we need some crazy guys,” Amorim told TNT Sports.
“[Matheus] Cunha is a little bit like that, he’s a guy that is a good guy, but he doesn’t care who you are. Whenever he is there in that position, ‘I will go with the ball’.
“This kind of feeling, we need that. Because [Harry] Maguire was captain, and played for the national team, but you can feel it sometimes when things are going wrong, we go down.
“No matter if it’s Bruno [Fernandes] with the experience or Harry, and that is in the past, so we need to live in the future.
“Sometimes you look at the pitch, something is going really wrong, and you see Bryan [Mbeumo] with a different light, because he came from a different environment.
“And then you look at Cunha and you feel that sometimes he is frustrated, but you can feel that frustration is something like ‘give me the ball’, so we miss that.
“We need to forget the past and we need sometimes that crazy guy, ‘it doesn’t matter that the world can be on fire, but I don’t care’. Sometimes it’s not just the leader, but it’s those maverick guys that we need in the team.”
United fans are hoping the team will turn their season around by recording victory against newly-promoted Sunderland at Old Trafford on Saturday.
Defeat to the Black Cats would leave United chiefs in a difficult position, as the pressure on the Amorim would be immense.
Crystal Palace head coach Oliver Glasner is regarded as the favourite to replace Amorim, former Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez has also been linked with the Premier League side as well as former England manager Gareth Southgate.
