Former Manchester United managers Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjær were sacked from their respective jobs in Turkey this week.
Rúben Amorim is under increasing pressure at Manchester United as his squad continues to search for their first win of the 2025/26 campaign.
The club spent over £200 million on four additions during the summer, including big-name arrivals Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo, and Benjamin Šeško, but the campaign opened with a narrow 1-0 defeat to Arsenal.
A dull 1-1 draw at Fulham came next, before matters worsened in the Carabao Cup as United crashed out on penalties to League Two side Grimsby Town, having already fallen two goals behind in the first half.
What promised to be a fresh start after an impressive pre-season has quickly unravelled, leaving Amorim under mounting pressure and patience across the club once again stretched to its limit.
Amid the growing pressure on Amorim, the last two days have seen former United bosses Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjær sacked from their posts in Turkey, leading some to ponder if a temporary return to Old Trafford could be on the cards.
What Solskjær said about United return
After Solskjær was sacked from United in 2021, the Norwegian did not take a managerial job for three years before signing with Turkish side Beşiktaş in January 2025.
However, after they failed to qualify for the Conference League, Solskjær was relieved of his duties on Thursday, within an hour of losing to Swiss side FC Lausanne-Sport, currently owned by Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
Amidst his availability, comments from Solskjær before taking the Besiktas job have resurfaced, in which he admitted that if United were to ask him to retake charge, he would say yes in a heartbeat.
“If your family asks you, you say yes every day of the week,” he said, via the Norwegian outlet VG. “It feels wrong to talk about jobs other people have. But I say yes.”
What Mourinho said about United return
Mourinho’s time at United was arguably the club’s most successful since Sir Alex Ferguson retired, with the Portuguese boss winning the EFL Cup, Europa League, and Community Shield during his two and a half seasons in charge.
However, after falling out with many of the players and United’s board members at the time, he was sacked in December 2018. More recently, his contract at Turkish side Fenerbahce was terminated on Friday morning.
Back in May, when Erik ten Hag still had the United job but his position hung in the balance after a poor season in the Premier League, the Manchester Evening News reported that Mourinho was still keen on taking charge at Old Trafford for a second time.
According to the report, Mourinho had told those close to him that he would happily “walk” to Manchester if he were offered the job again, as the Portuguese boss is known to be friends with United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
It’s unlikely that either Solskjær or Mourinho would be handed the job if Amorim were to either resign or be relieved of his duties, but regardless, the two former United coaches being sacked amid a time of uncertainty at Old Trafford is certainly some coincidence.
Make sure to follow UtdDistrict on X, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok to never miss out on any of our Manchester United content. Our podcast, What the Devil?, is streamed live every Thursday at 12:30 pm (BST) on the United View YouTube channel.