Milan close to appointing Rúben Amorim: Portuguese coach should open a new cycle at San Siro
Milan is entering a new phase of reconstruction of its football project after a season that ended without qualification for the Champions League. AC Milan, according to available information from British and Italian media, is on the verge of appointing Rúben Amorim as the new head coach of the first team. The Guardian reported that the Portuguese specialist agreed to take over the Rossoneri bench on the basis of a two-year contract, with the possibility of extending the cooperation for another season. As of 16 June 2026, the club had not published a separate official confirmation of the appointment on its latest news page, so the deal must still be described as agreed according to media reports, but not formally concluded.
If the agreement is confirmed, Amorim will succeed Massimiliano Allegri, who left the club after a disappointing end to the championship. Milan finished the 2025/26 Serie A season in fifth place, with 70 points, one point fewer than fourth-placed Como, according to official data from the club table. Such a ranking meant that the club did not return to the Champions League, a competition that carries great sporting and financial weight for a club of such a profile. For that reason, Amorim's possible arrival is not being viewed only as a change of coach, but as the beginning of a broader attempt to return the team to the top of Italian and European football.
An agreement awaiting formal confirmation
According to The Guardian's report, Amorim accepted Milan's offer after a period without a coaching job that followed his departure from Manchester United in January 2026. Reports about the contract speak of an initial two-year cooperation, with an option for a third season, which would give the club a certain degree of stability, but also keep room to assess results after the first phase of the project. Such a contract structure is common when a club wants to give a coach enough time to implement an idea while at the same time retaining control over long-term obligations. At this moment, Milan must align the choice of coach with the new sporting structure, because the end of the season brought several changes in the management and football sectors.
News of the agreement appeared after a series of speculations about possible candidates for the Milan bench. Different coaching profiles were mentioned in Italian and British reports, but Amorim stood out as a candidate who can bring a recognizable tactical identity and experience of working at a big club. His tenure at Manchester United did not end successfully, but before that he built a reputation at Sporting as a coach who creates a clear playing structure, develops young players and quickly changes a team's competitive status. For Milan, which is seeking a balance between results, player development and financial sustainability, precisely that combination could be the decisive reason for choosing the Portuguese specialist.
Why Milan moved toward a new cut
Milan's season ended with a sudden fall at the most important moment. According to the club's official Serie A table, after 38 rounds the Rossoneri had 20 wins, 10 draws and eight defeats, with a goal difference of 53:35. Inter finished as champion with 87 points, Napoli were second with 76, Roma third with 73, and Como fourth with 71 points. Milan therefore remained just below the line for the Champions League, which caused serious consequences at the club. Football Italia reported that Roma and Como secured places in the Champions League alongside Inter and Napoli in the final outcome, while Milan's defeat to Cagliari in the last round further sharpened the impression of a missed opportunity.
After such an outcome, the club launched a broader reorganization. Associated Press reported that Milan, as part of moves that the ownership structure described as a response to an unsuccessful season, ended cooperation with head coach Allegri, CEO Giorgio Furlani, sporting director Igli Tare and technical director Geoffrey Moncada. The same reports state that RedBird Capital Partners, as the ownership structure, kept Zlatan Ibrahimović in an advisory role, which points to the continuation of his presence in sporting decision-making. Milan also announced new decisions on filling key functions, with the aim of giving the team a more stable operating framework by the start of the new season.
Allegri returned to Milan in May 2025, when the club officially announced his appointment as head coach of the first team. His second spell was conceived as the return of a proven specialist who knows the club and Serie A well, but the final result did not fulfill the main competitive ambition. The failure was particularly painful because Milan had long been in a position during the season from which it could have secured a return to the strongest European competition. The absence of the Champions League affects sporting prestige, negotiating position in the transfer window and financial planning, so the decision on a new coaching direction became one of the most important moves of the summer.
What Amorim brings to Milan
Rúben Amorim would arrive in Italy with the reputation of a coach whose greatest successes are linked to Sporting CP. The Portuguese club officially announced that in the 2020/21 season it won the league title after victory over Boavista, which was Sporting's first championship title after 19 years. In that season, Amorim built a team with a clear identity and a strong reliance on discipline, speed in transition and wide positions for the flank players. Sporting again won the Portuguese championship in 2024 under his leadership, and the club then announced that the team led by Amorim had secured a new title several rounds before the end. Those results explain why his work is still highly valued despite the problematic period in England.
Tactically, Amorim is most often associated with systems based on three central defenders, aggressive organization without the ball and an important role for wing-backs. Such a model requires specific player profiles, especially in defense and on the flanks, but it can give a team stability in possession and more pressing lines after losing the ball. For Milan, this could mean changes in player selection, the distribution of minutes and the way attackers are used. Still, only the official appointment and the start of preparations can show whether Amorim will try to fully transfer his previous model or adapt it to the squad he finds at Milanello.
His stay at Manchester United will remain an important part of the assessment, because it was an experience of working under extremely strong pressure from the public and results. In January 2026, the Premier League announced that United had confirmed Amorim's departure from the position of head coach after 14 months, with the explanation that the club leadership had judged that it was time for a change. The same overview stated that the Portuguese took over United after Erik ten Hag and that the first part of his tenure was marked by difficult results. For Milan, the key question will therefore be whether Amorim can draw lessons from the English period and again find the effectiveness he showed at Sporting.
Financial effect for Manchester United
Amorim's possible arrival at Milan would not have consequences only in Serie A. According to The Guardian, his return to work could reduce Manchester United's financial burden connected with the earlier termination of cooperation. United's financial report for the third quarter of fiscal 2026 states exceptional costs of £16.7 million, mostly connected with the departure of the former head coach of the men's first team Rúben Amorim and some members of his coaching staff. Such an accounting item does not automatically mean that every amount had already been paid at the same moment, but it shows the scale of the cost that the club associated with the change of coaching staff.
If Amorim signs a new contract with Milan, part of Manchester United's obligations could be reduced depending on the provisions of the termination arrangement and the Portuguese coach's new earnings. Such mechanisms are common in football contracts because the former club, in certain circumstances, no longer has to cover the full amount of compensation if the coach finds a new job in the meantime. However, the exact effect on United's finances has not yet been officially elaborated in publicly available documents. For that reason, one can speak of a potential saving, but not of a precise final amount.
For United, such an outcome would come at a moment when the club is trying to stabilize costs and sporting direction after several years of frequent changes on the bench. For Milan, on the other hand, the fact that Amorim comes as a coach who has already gone through the intense experience of the Premier League can be an advantage, but also a risk. The advantage is that he knows the pressure of a big club, complex dressing rooms and work in a media environment in which every result quickly turns into a wider debate. The risk is that his ability to adapt will be tested again very quickly, especially if Milan does not find stability in the early phase of the season.
Preparations and a possible quick meeting with his former club
Milan has already confirmed part of its summer schedule, including friendly matches against Celtic and Manchester United. According to the club's official announcement, the Rossoneri will play against Celtic in Glasgow on 25 July, and on 15 August travel to Wrocław, where a match with Manchester United awaits them at Tarczyński Arena. If Amorim is confirmed as Milan coach by then, that match could gain additional symbolism because it would very quickly bring him up against his former club. Still, preseason matches primarily serve for building cohesion and assessing the squad, so the sporting significance of that encounter would depend on how much the teams have been shaped by then after the transfer window.
The new coach's first task will be to assess which players can fit into a different tactical framework. Milan have individuals capable of playing at a high tempo and attacking space, but a system with three defenders or flexible wide players would require clear decisions on positions, rotations and transfer-window priorities. In addition, the club must find a balance between short-term results and long-term development, because the absence of the Champions League reduces the margin for error. Amorim, if appointed, would have to quickly convince the dressing room that the new direction makes sense and that it can return Milan among the four best clubs in Italy.
That is precisely why Amorim's possible appointment has broader significance than a usual coaching change. Milan are not looking only for a person who will lead training sessions and choose the line-up, but for the face of a new project after a summer in which key people in the sporting sector were changed. The Portuguese would bring to the club a clear idea of play, the experience of winning titles in Portugal and fresh motivation after an unsuccessful episode in England. But his success will depend on whether he gets a functional structure above him, a sufficiently adapted squad and the time needed to change the team's identity.
Sources:
- The Guardian – report on Rúben Amorim's agreement with Milan, the length of the contract and the possible effect on Manchester United's obligations (link)
- AC Milan – official 2025/26 Serie A table with Milan's position and points (link)
- Football Italia – final 2025/26 Serie A standings and allocation of Champions League places (link)
- Manchester United Plc – financial report for the third quarter of fiscal 2026 with a note on exceptional costs connected with the departure of Rúben Amorim (link)
- Premier League – announcement on Rúben Amorim's departure from Manchester United in January 2026 (link)
- Sporting CP – official announcement on the 2020/21 championship title and Amorim's context at Sporting (link)
- Sporting CP – official announcement on the 2024 championship title under Rúben Amorim's leadership (link)
- AC Milan – official announcement of summer friendly matches against Celtic and Manchester United (link)
- Associated Press / ESPN – report on Massimiliano Allegri's departure and changes in Milan's management structure after missing out on the Champions League (link)