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Sport Football Ruben Amorim sets record straight on West Ham talks ahead of Manchester United move Amorim made a trip to London to meet with West Ham owner David Sullivan earlier this year before opting to join Manchester United later this month from Sporting CP
Van Nistelrooy hopeful over 'talented' Amorim appointment Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
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Your support makes all the difference. Close Read more Incoming Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim maintains he did not negotiate a move to West Ham United last summer despite travelling to London to meet with the club’s owner David Sullivan .
The Sporting CP boss, who will take over at Old Trafford during the international break, denied any “secrecy” involved in April’s meeting, but did concede it was “disrespectful.”
But despite previously accepting his trip to London was “a mistake”, Amorim maintains he did not negotiate to succeed David Moyes at the London Stadium, with the Hammers eventually appointing Julen Lopetegui last summer.
“I went to England,” Amorim said when pushed to clarify the situation surrounding West Ham ahead of Sporting’s Champions League match against Manchester City . “I didn't go to negotiate, I went to meet the owner.
“I had made my decision. If you think I already wanted to leave last year, there's nothing I can do about it.”
The 39-year-old accepts expectations will be high when he takes over at Old Trafford later this month, and he recognises that could increase if Sporting overcome City.
“I don’t think about that,” said Amorim at a press conference.
“My focus is on winning the match for Sporting. The conclusions are not important for me because they could be erroneous. If we win tomorrow they will think the new Alex Ferguson has arrived.
“That will be very difficult to live up to. It could increase expectations. I don’t think about that.”
PA contributed to this report
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