Ruben Amorim pulls plug on Man United deal – ‘I absolutely hate them’
Manchester United will benefit from Ruben Amorim’s decision to cancel a £10million documentary being filmed next season.
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson was full of praise for Amorim after he chose to keep external cameras away from Carrington.
Amorim‘s disastrous debut season at Old Trafford ended in a 15th-placed Premier League finish and a 1-0 loss to Tottenham in the Europa League final, leaving United trophyless and without European football.
Man United therefore have a difficult season ahead with Jim Ratcliffe planning to bring their wage bill down to £300million this summer, and this could see squad morale fall even lower than its current level.
As a result, Robinson told Football Insider that a fly-on-the-wall documentary following Amorim and his players throughout next season would be the worst possible addition to the Man United changing room.
As well questioning the authenticity of Amazon documentaries other clubs have released, Robinson told Football Insider that Amorim simply doesn’t need even greater scrutiny on the “carnage” at Man United.
‘Man United and Amorim have enough ongoing problems’
The £10m Man United would have earned from staging a documentary could have made up for the loss of sponsorship deals such as Marriott at Old Trafford, but Robinson was fully behind Amorim’s decision.
Speaking on the latest Inside Track, he argued that a behind-closed-doors documentary wouldn’t help Amorim turn things around in the slightest at Man United, and could limit his ability to try and do so.
“I’m glad he’s done it. I absolutely hate them”, Robinson told Football Insider.
“I absolutely love the insight, love watching what goes on at clubs and everything now I’m out of the game – but in the game, I absolutely would’ve hated it.
“Those documentaries are great, but they’re not a true reflection because players and individuals are not behaving how they would if the cameras weren’t there.
“I’m glad Ruben Amorim stood up and said no – there’s enough going on at Manchester United.
“The last thing that they want is anybody going in behind the training ground and seeing what really goes on. Imagine if we saw the carnage that was actually going on!
“Fair play to him, he’s put his foot down and gone: ‘Not on my watch, I’ve got enough to deal with. I need to deal with players open and honestly, I need to deal with situations – the last thing I need is a load of cameras buzzing about.’
“For me as a player, I would have absolutely hated it. Man United have got enough problems without us actually seeing what’s going on.”
Man United in race against time to complete transfer business
Amorim’s decision-making has already caused a stir at Old Trafford this summer, but a behind-the-scenes documentary won’t get the chance to explore the moods of several out-of-favour United players.
Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Antony, Tyrell Malacia and Alejandro Garnacho’s extended absences have left Amorim with five outgoing transfers to negotiate, and United can’t afford any distractions.
Matheus Cunha’s arrival from Wolves may have been sealed some time ago, but the period of stasis that has set in since gives critics yet another chance to poke fun at a club which Amorim is desperately trying to turn around.