Manchester United defender Matthijs de Ligt has defended the blunt approach of manager Ruben Amorim, which suggests that the club will be better off in the long term.
Amorim led United to their worst Premier League finish of the 15th and managed only seven league godder after arrival at the club in November.
But the coach caught the attention when he did not stop his comments, including the suggestion that his team “was probably the worst Manchester United in history” after their 3-1 defeat against Brighton in January.
He also offered to walk away without compensation from the club in the aftermath of their Europa League final defeat against Tottenham, and accused his players of being “chokers” after a defeat against a Southeast Asia XI during a tour after the season.
But De Ligt, who led Ajax in the semi -final of the Champions League in 2019 before he later moved to Bayern Munich, believes that his nationality and the Dutch reputation for blunt comments set him well for his manager.
“I am from the Netherlands, so I like it,” he said, as quoted by BBC Sport.
“I can understand that the media are in shock because this does not normally happen.
“But I think you can also be very happy that someone finally speaks, says what he thinks and speaks the truth.
“I really appreciate him in our conversations personally. It gives me the feeling that I can trust him, and he can trust me.”
The domestic season of United was their worst since the 1973-74 campaign in which they were banned from the top flight.
Their Onder-PAR performance means that the club will not only be in a European competition the second time, because English clubs were allowed back in UEFA matches in 1990.
Defeat in Malaysia.#MUFC || #Mutour25
– Manchester United (@manutd) 28 May 2025
In the meantime, De Ligt thinks that the work performed by Amorim will quickly pay dividends.
“I have experienced many managers, and he is one of the easiest to talk to as a player,” he said.
“He really loves details. Before he signs new players, he first looks at the culture, what needs to change and what can be improved to become a better football club. From next season we will see more of that.
“I think he wants to build a team of players who are together, fight for each other and the maximum gathering of what they have.
“Maybe earlier, you had the best players, but you are not a team.”