Ruben Amorim and the 14 words that created Marcus Rashford ‘big, big headlines’

We have an awful lot of time for Ruben Amorim and the way he has handled the media so far; it’s been a tricky five months punctuated by the exit of Dan Ashworth, the farrago surrounding Marcus Rashford, and rather a lot of football.

The latter has brought mixed results – four wins, one draw, two defeats – but let’s face it, the media (and that includes us) is fuelled by narratives, and the narratives have been delicious.

On Tuesday night, Rashford did an interview with Henry Winter in which was delivered – in the most bizarre manner possible – the really quite massive news that he was ready to leave Manchester United for the first time in his life.

On Wednesday morning, Amorim met with the press, ostensibly to preview the Carabao Cup quarter-final with Tottenham, but was quizzed on almost nothing but Marcus Rashford. Those very measured quotes emerged on Wednesday morning.

But – and some of you might not realise this – that was just half of the media interrogation, because those first quotes were for immediate release, and then there was an embargoed part of the press conference because, even in big 2024, national newspaper journalists are given another bite of the cherry because somebody, somewhere, decided that they needed new quotes for their back pages.

So they asked again. And again. And again. You can read the full transcript here. Literally the first thing he says is, “I cannot say more from that interview or speak some more about Rashford.” Oh my sweet summer child.

He then attempted to disavow the assembled grown adults of the notion that he watched the players get dressed (or GET DRESSED) and went on to quell any lingering concerns that he was remotely worried about the leak. Oddly, those quotes are largely missing from any national newspaper coverage on Thursday morning.

Then they asked him about Rashford. Again. And again.

“It’s hard to explain to you guys what I’m going to do. I’m a little bit emotional, so, in the moment, I will understand what to do,” said Amorim when he was asked to explain what he would say in a private conversation with Rashford.

At this point let’s stop for a minute to ponder just how f***ing weird it remains that reporters from various newspapers think they have a right to ask a grown man what he will say to another grown man in a private conversation.

In the course of this press conference – which followed a first press conference, remember – Amorim repeatedly tried to change the focus. Indeed, that is a word he used time and time again.

“I’m focused on the team…my focus is to take the best of Marcus and take the best of our players…my focus is to set the standards…I’m focused on Tottenham…my focus is to prepare the team for Tottenham…my focus now is the players didn’t still arrive at Carrington…let’s focus on the team… I understand that my focus is not to take the attention away from the game…let’s focus on the game, that’s all…but guys, let’s focus on Tottenham. Tottenham is the most important thing.”

Amorim could not possibly have made it clearer where his focus lies. And yet the assembled journalists were having none of it.

“I know it’s a hard situation to comment on. If I give a lot of importance to it, it will have big, big headlines in the newspaper and, if I say that it’s not a problem, my standards are getting low,” said Amorim as he was pressed again. Sorry Ruben, but they were going to get their ‘big, big headlines’ whatever happened.

And it came via the very last question. And we have to say that it’s a humdinger: ‘As you say, you were a former player. If you were left out of a team and dropped from the squad, would you do an interview and let your views be known publicly or go and see your manager privately?’

Amorim is an honest man and his honest answer was this: “I can say, if it was me, probably, I will speak with the manager.”

And with those 14 words, the headlines were born. Being careful throughout two press conferences was entirely undone by those 14 words and created the ‘big big headlines’ he was desperate to avoid.

On the back page of the Daily Mirror, it’s an ‘Amorim dig’ despite the Manchester United boss being at pains not to do that through two press conferences.

And The Sun tell us that ‘RUBEN AMORIM says Marcus Rashford was wrong to tell the world he wants to quit Manchester United’.

Except he really, really didn’t. He tried desperately not to say anything at all and then said HE would have reacted differently. It’s emphatically not the same thing.

The Guardian are no better, claiming Rashford has been ‘rebuked’, attributing a ‘Players must talk to manager not media’ line to the Manchester United manager, when he very specifically said nothing of the sort.

And the problem with such back pages is that the agenda is then set, for others to collectively lose sight of what was actually said.

”Emotional’ Ruben Amorim fires warning to Marcus Rashford over interview comments’ – 90 Min.

Sorry but did he f***.