The Portuguese has been out of football since being sacked by Manchester United in January Justin Setterfield/Getty ImagesJune 13, 2026 12:19 pm EDT Updated Former Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim is the leading candidate to take over at AC Milan.The 41-year-old, who has been out of football since being sacked by United on January 5, held talks with the Serie A club in Portugal last week.The interest in Amorim is part of a thorough and robust process to restructure Milan after Massimiliano Allegri and the executive team were sacked following the failure to qualify for the Champions League.Milan initially set out to appoint former Bournemouth coach Andoni Iraola only for Liverpool to unexpectedly sack Arne Slot and appoint the Basque as his replacement.The Athletic previously reported they had spoken to USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino while former Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner, Al Ahli’s Matthias Jaissle and Stuttgart’s Sebastian Hoeness have also been under consideration.Ralf Rangnick has been interviewed for the head of football role that will sit above the prospective head coach.Milan finished fifth in Serie A to miss out on a spot in the Champions League for the second successive campaign, leading to Allegri being sacked after just a year in the role. Sporting director Igli Tare, chief executive Giorgio Furlani and technical director Geoffrey Moncada also left the club.Amorim was appointed as United head coach in November 2024, signing a three-year deal at Old Trafford to succeed Erik ten Hag.United paid €11m (£9.5m) to hire Amorim, who was one of the most highly-rated coaches in Europe after winning two Primeira Liga titles in Portugal at Sporting CP.Despite sitting only four points off the top four upon his arrival, United went on to record a 15th-place league finish — their worst of the Premier League era — with just 42 points, their fewest in a top-flight season since relegation in 1973-74.Amorim was dismissed after hinting at tensions with United director of football Jason Wilcox over his contentious 3-4-3 system, telling journalists after a 1-1 draw away to Leeds United that he considered himself the “manager” of the club, not the “coach”.Jun 13, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms