Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim has revealed the backstory behind a nickname given to him by club legend Cristiano Ronaldo.
Amorim arrived at Old Trafford on Monday and met with members of the club’s brass as he prepares to takes the reins at United having been named the club’s new boss following Erik ten Hag’s sacking last month.
The 39-year-old is faced with the monumental task of turning United around as they have slumped to their worst-ever start in Premier League prior to the Dutchman’s dismissal.
In his wake, Ten Hag’s former assistant Ruud van Nistelrooy served as interim manager, restoring morale around the club by going unbeaten across four games in all competitions.
The club currently sit 13th in the Premier League table having won just four of their opening 11 games in the league.
The dismal start sees the club closer to the relegation zone than league leaders Liverpool, and comes after yet another summer of spending with more than £180m spent on bolstering the ranks during the transfer window.
In his first interview since taking the reins at Old Trafford, Amorim revealed his compatriot Ronaldo had given him the nickname, ‘the poet’.
‘Yeah. But it’s like a funny thing because I like to speak, not too much, but when I speak, I speak, I think I speak from the heart.’ Amorim told MUTV.
‘I think the people feel that it was something just to have fun.’
Amorim is just nine days older than Ronaldo, and his debut season as a player in the Portuguese top flight came just months after Ronaldo had made his first step on the road to footballing immortality by joining United in 2003.
The pair appeared together on multiple occasions for the Portuguese national team before Amorim hung up his boots in 2017 to embark on a career in management.
