Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim has opened up on the regret that his wife “throws in my face every day”.
The 39-year-old, who will take charge of his first United game on Sunday as the Reds come up against Ipswich Town, has enjoyed a remarkable rise since taking over at third-tier Portuguese sider Casa Pia in 2018.
He went on to impress at Braga, the club he spent a year at during his playing career, before Sporting triggered the €10 million (£8.3m) clause in his contract. The rest, as they say, is history.
But one big regret from his journey came before Amorim made his professional debut for Primeira Liga side Belenenses in 2003.
Speaking in an interview with Portuguese newspaper Expresso, Amorim revealed that he still gets teased by his wife, Maria Joao Diogo, for leaving school before taking his exams at the age 18.
In short, Amorim regrets not having a better education after being unable to complete his school exams.
“I had an agreement with my mother. I would continue at school until I signed a professional contract,” he said.
“I signed when I was 17. Today, I regret it a lot. If I’d taken my exams, I could have done the 12th year. I could also have entered a top college. My wife is an electrotechnical engineer and she throws that in my face every day.”
Maria, who tied the knot with Amorim at the Palacio de S. Marcos church in Coimbra, holds a degree in telecommunications engineering and now runs her own interior design business.
In fact, she runs the business called Dois Ton with Raquel; the wife of Manchester City director of football Hugo Viana.
Image credit: Tribuna
The Athletic’s Charlotte Harpur recently spent a week speaking to Amorim’s family and friends to gain an insight into the new Manchester United manager.
“It’s his charisma, it’s his smile,” Harpur told talkSPORT.”It’s very easy to say, but when you interact with him, just from a media perspective, it’s fresh and it is different, especially in contrast to Erik ten Hag.
“I think you can always get a bit carried away. They say it’s the hope that kills you, but from the impression that I’ve had, speaking to his family and to his friends, even in his recent and quite short experience as a coach, they feel he is different and can offer a fresh look. It’s hard to express, they said.
“He’s going to provide Manchester United, hopefully, with a clean page and a new perspective.”