Former Barcelona manager and midfielder Xavi has already made a decision regarding his next job as Manchester United remain clear in their stance.
Manchester United have started the season with just two wins from their opening seven games in all competitions, scraping past Chelsea and Burnley.
On both occasions, Rúben Amorim’s side relied on fine margins, an early dismissal in one match and a stoppage-time penalty in the other, highlighting their ongoing difficulties.
Following last season’s disastrous campaign, United had hoped to set a positive tone early on, but their displays have once again fallen short of expectations.
A 3-1 defeat at Brentford in their most recent outing has only heightened concerns and intensified the pressure on Amorim.
Xavi’s decision about his next job revealed
After two and a half years in charge of his boyhood club, Xavi was sacked by Barcelona at the end of the 2023/24 campaign after a string of poor results.
Since then, despite several links to a plethora of clubs, the legendary Spanish former midfielder has been out of a managerial job since his dismissal.
In recent weeks, however, Amorim’s poor performances have brought in speculation that he may be sacked, and Xavi is rumoured to be amongst the shortlist of potential coaches.
Having started his managerial career in charge of Al-Sadd in Qatar, the 45-year-old has been linked with a move to Al-Ittihad after they sacked former United centre-back, Laurent Blanc, and reportedly favour a move for Xavi.
However, as reported by Mundo Deportivo, the Spaniard does not consider it a possibility to take over at the Saudi Arabian club, with it being reported that he wants to return to coaching a top-level club, hence the speculation surrounding him and the potentially soon-to-be vacant United job.
Ineos’ stance on Amorim is clear
While speculation about Amorim’s job security has been running rife amid links to potential managerial replacements such as Xavi, Ineos have remained consistent in their stance towards the Portuguese coach.
The club’s hierarchy has continually backed Amorim to succeed, and despite a poor start to the season, this hasn’t changed, as they highly respect the manager within the club.
Reports broke earlier in the month that Sir Jim Ratcliffe had flown into Carrington to hold multiple meetings with key staff members and decision makers at the club.
Ratcliffe reportedly left the meeting with a good understanding of Amorim’s determination not to waver from his tactical setup, reportedly saying that changing philosophy would mean changing the manager himself.
While Ineos’ support for the Portuguese coach remains, it is reportedly not indefinite, and results simply have to get better if Amorim is to remain United manager going into 2026.
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