Manchester City boss, Pep Guardiola, has told Manchester United that they have dismissed a ‘top manager’ in the person of Ruben Amorim.
Guardiola also believes the Red Devils would be ‘close’ to Arsenal in the Premier League table if not for injuries and absence of players representing their countries at the Africa Cup of Nations.
The Manchester City manager wished Amorim ‘all the best for the future’ during his first press conference after his former rival was fired at the start of the week.
Amorim’s 14-month stay at United ended on Monday after a bad run of results and increasing conflicts off the field led to his dismissal.
Manchester United ended up in 15th place in the Premier League last season and have still not shown much improvement this season, even though there have been a few small positive signs.
Guardiola still thinks Amorim is a top manager, and he has explained the recent series of results that eventually caused his sack.
The City boss, who is one of the best managers ever, even said Manchester United might have been close to being top of the Premier League if some games had gone differently, like Arsenal’s results.
Guardiola said on Tuesday afternoon, “It’s true managers are getting less time than they used to. We saw what happened with Enzo[Maresca] too. I have only respect for the players and the organizations of Chelsea and Manchester United.
“All I can say is Ruben is a top manager. Our neighbors have made the decision, so I wish Ruben all the best in the future.
“There’s no country where you can feel safe as a manager if you don’t win games, and there are no exceptions.
“If you don’t see results, it doesn’t matter. Every manager is hired because of their ideas, but they get fired because of the results they achieve.
“Sometimes you need a process and time. Man United drew three matches at home, and their opponents, like Everton and Bournemouth, did a great job. But with different results, United would be almost as good as Arsenal, so the differences can be really tiny sometimes.
“In their recent matches, they’ve also had many players missing because of injuries or because they’re at the Africa Cup of Nations, and it’s been tough to handle. When key players aren’t available, it becomes harder, but honestly, I don’t know the exact reasons why.”
