Manchester United

The Red Devils' 2-0 loss against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Boxing Day compounded a miserable Christmas period for fans, and saw the club sink to 14th place in the Premier League table.

United could face further embarrassment in the near future, with the team set to play Newcastle United, Liverpool and Arsenal in their next three fixtures.

Amorim has now lost five of his 10 games in charge since replacing Erik ten Hag in the Old Trafford dugout, and has himself insisted that the team are a long way from being ready to challenge.

Speaking at the Globe Soccer Awards in Dubai, Ronaldo voiced strong support of Amorim and backed his former club to get back to their glory days, saying: "He (Amorim) did a fantastic job in Portugal with my (club) Sporting, but the Premier League is a different beast, the most competitive league in the world.

"I knew that it would be tough and they will continue the storm. But the storm will finish and the sun will rise."

Amorim helped lead Sporting Lisbon to the Primeira Liga title in 2020-21, winning Sporting's first league in 19 years and ending the Benfica and Porto's dominance in the Portuguese top flight.

Was Ronaldo right?

Ronaldo left Juventus and joined United for a second time in 2021 but his fairy tale return to Old Trafford came to a premature end after he took part in a controversial interview in November 2022.

The 39-year-old criticised the club as a whole, and he reiterated at the Globe Soccer Awards his belief that United must fundamentally change, saying: "I said this one year and a half ago and I will continue to say it: the problem is not the coaches.

"It's like the aquarium and you have the fish inside and it's sick, and you take him out and fix the problem. If you put it back in the aquarium it will be sick again. This is the problem of Manchester United. It is the same."

It is hard to disagree with the legendary player considering the club are on track to record just 49 points which would be nine fewer than the 58 points they tallied in 2021-22, their current lowest total in Premier League history.

Amorim deserves time and patience at United, especially as he has not had the benefit of being able to transform the side with new arrivals, and it would be harsh to blame him for any of the club's structural issues.

Written by

Lewis Nolan