Rio Ferdinand has suggested that Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta could be tempted to leave the Premier League title challengers if the opportunity arose to take charge of Manchester United following the dismissal of Ruben Amorim.
United confirmed on Monday that they had “reluctantly made the decision” to part ways with Amorim after a turbulent 14-month spell at Old Trafford.
Speculation over the 40-year-old’s future intensified after Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Leeds United, during which Amorim appeared to criticise the club’s leadership. In his post-match press conference, he insisted he was hired to be the club’s manager rather than just a head coach, hinting that he wanted greater influence over transfers.
Former United midfielder Darren Fletcher is expected to lead the team for Wednesday’s Premier League fixture away at Burnley, as the club reportedly plans to appoint a caretaker manager until the end of the season.
Ferdinand, however, believes that only one current Premier League manager would completely rule out the United job.
“Unai Emery would be someone who would absolutely jump at the chance,” Ferdinand said on his Rio Ferdinand Presents YouTube channel.
“Pep Guardiola’s the only manager in the league who I think would sit there and go, ‘I’m content where I am, I’m happy where I am, and I don’t need it’.
“He’s never gonna say it, he would never say it out loud. But I’m telling you, Mikel Arteta would sit there [and consider it].”
Amorim managed 63 matches across all competitions during his time at United, recording 24 wins, 18 draws and 21 defeats. He guided the club to last season’s Europa League final, where they lost 1-0 to Tottenham.
In the Premier League, he secured just 15 wins from 47 games, giving him a 32% win rate — the lowest of any United manager in the competition’s history. This season, he had steered the Red Devils to sixth place, three points behind fourth-placed Liverpool, as they battled for European qualification after missing out the previous campaign.
Reflecting on Amorim’s final weeks, Ferdinand added: “I saw his last two press conferences, and I was thinking, ‘Something isn’t right here’. This guy, one of his best traits and most likeable things, has been his ability to be quite punchy in his press conferences, upbeat, jovial.
“The last two that he did looked depressing.”
Ferdinand recalled a recent visit to United’s training ground, saying he sensed a shift in Amorim’s demeanour compared to earlier interactions.
“He was warm, he spends a lot of time with you, and he goes into detail. He’s open as you like; he’s an open book,” Ferdinand said.
“But when I went there the last time, I noticed immediately that there was a coldness about him, and there was a real difference to what I’d seen before.”
He added that, in hindsight, tensions appeared to have been building well before Amorim’s departure.
“Now I look back with hindsight, I think things were starting to cook before Christmas. This isn’t just an overnight thing… This coldness I saw in the last two press conferences, I saw it in him.”
Despite claiming the atmosphere among the players felt positive, Ferdinand said Amorim himself seemed increasingly distant.
Meanwhile, Oliver Glasner and Gareth Southgate are reportedly leading candidates for the permanent Manchester United role, with Glasner’s contract at Crystal Palace set to expire at the end of the 2025–26 season.
