Pep Guardiola sends personal message to Ruben Amorim after Manchester United appointment

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has issued a personal welcome to Ruben Amorim after his appointment as the next Manchester United head coach was confirmed.

The words from the six-time Premier League champion come ahead of Manchester City’s direct confrontation with Ruben Amorim, but in UEFA Champions League competition on Tuesday night.

Despite having already finalised an agreement with Manchester United to become their new head coach after Erik ten Hag’s dismissal, Old Trafford officials and Sporting arranged for Amorim to remain in the Portuguese capital until Monday 11 November.

As such, matchday four of the UEFA Champions League and Sporting CP’s meeting with Manchester City at home will be Ruben Amorim’s last outing at the summit of European football before taking the top job at Old Trafford.

Speaking during a recent press conference, Pep Guardiola was informed of Amorim’s appointment as the next Manchester United head coach, to which the City boss stated he would congratulate the 39-year-old on the move when the two meet next week.

“Welcome! Welcome to United, to England, and I’ll congratulate him next Tuesday,” Guardiola said in reference to Manchester City’s visit to Sporting on matchday four of the league phase in this season’s UEFA Champions League.

“We faced each other as a team two or three seasons ago in the Champions League, so yeah, welcome,” he continued.

“I’m getting old,” Guardiola said when it was pointed out to him that Ruben Amorim is 14 years his junior.

The Manchester City manager was quizzed on what advice he could give the Portuguese tactician prior to making the move to England later this month, to which he said, “No. I’m not the right person to give advices to my colleagues.

“Not because he’s (Manchester) United, I think they have a lot of people in United that will tell him what is the situation in the club so I cannot give him any advices.”

Manchester City will come into the meeting with Sporting level on points with the Portuguese champions, with both clubs having won two of their first three matches, drawing the other fixture.

For the 2023 winners of the competition, Manchester City began their schedule with a 0-0 draw against Inter, following things up with a 0-4 away win over Slovan Bratislava and a 5-0 victory over Sparta Prague.

As for Sporting, the Portuguese club opened up with a 2-0 win over Lille, followed by a 1-1 away outing against PSV Eindhoven before defeating SK Sturm Graz 0-2 away from home in their last Champions League contest.