Not playing in Europe means fewer games for Manchester United, which can allow Amorim to work with a smaller, more manageable squad
Manchester United failed to qualify for the Champions League or indeed any European competition next season but the club can turn that to their advantage, head coach Ruben Amorim has said.
Amorim will be looking to rebuild the team after the Red Devils were left marooned in the bottom half of the Premier League table in 2024-25. United lost 18 Premier League games, more than in any other league campaign since 1973-74. Their Europa League final loss to Tottenham Hotspur last week robbed them of the chance to salvage the season with a trophy and extinguished the club’s last hope of continental football for next term.
But the absence of midweek European commitments also means fewer fixtures, which means that the head coach, who is going into his first full season, can work with a smaller, more manageable squad that he can mould to fit his vision faster.
“Without the Champions League, we don’t need a big squad. We can control the squad in a better way,” Amorim told reporters in Kuala Lumpur ahead of the opening leg of United’s pre-season tour of Malaysia and Hong Kong.
“Then we have a plan, that is to bring in some new players, but our big plan is to improve the team we have, to improve the Academy.”
Amorim added: “I have to say that for us not to be in the Champions League could be an advantage to perform well, to perform better in the games, to build that core that we need for the future.
“So, it is a good thing for us to take advantage of not having European games.”
The club have already completed a £62.5 million deal for Wolves forward Matheus Cunha, but any incoming additions to Amorim’s squad will be weighed carefully against budget constraints. United’s finances have been badly hit in recent years and the club’s transfer strategy this summer will reflect those weaknesses. Well aware of that, Amorim said that the squad “can’t change much because of Financial Fair Play. We are not allowed to do much, even with the Champions League, so we are prepared”.
He then said that the squad will need togetherness and to take small steps, such as going game by game, rather than setting grand targets.
“It’s important to stick together,” said Amorim. “We are going to struggle, it’s not going to be everything right away, but I can see the team improving and that’s the most important thing.
“Our target, I will not tell you now. If you want a target, it is to win the first game, then we will see. When you are in Man Utd, people are going to expect us to be on the top, but we have to understand the context.”
While the disappointment of 2024–25 still lingers, Amorim has mentally moved on from what he described on Sunday as a “disastrous” campaign.
“It was important to finish the season, we needed to close that chapter,” said Amorim. “I closed that chapter, I’m excited, I’m nervous, I want to work for the next season.
“I don’t have that feeling that I need to disconnect, I had the feeling to close the season, but now it’s a new season, so I am excited at the same moment. I don’t need rest, I just need to prepare.”
