Louis Sealey
Published January 30, 2026 8:25pm
Updated January 30, 2026 8:56pm
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Ex-Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim (Picture: Getty)
Gary Neville has pinpointed the moment Ruben Amorim ‘killed’ Kobbie Mainoo during his time in charge of Manchester United.
Amorim’s reluctance to play Mainoo led the highly-rated England midfielder to ask to leave United.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe blocked Mainoo from leaving last summer but would have been in a difficult position had the 20-year-old made the same request this month.
Napoli were in talks to sign Mainoo six months ago and were one of around 12 clubs interested in securing his signature during the January transfer window.
Desperate for more game-time to boost his fading hopes of going to this summer’s World Cup, Mainoo was expected to push for a January move.
But that was no longer necessary as it was Amorim who was leaving Old Trafford earlier in the month, sacked by Manchester United after a disappointing 14-month reign.
Mainoo’s prospects already look brighter in the post-Amorim era, with the United fans’ favourite starting the recent wins over Manchester City and Arsenal under caretaker boss Michael Carrick.
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Kobbie Mainoo during Man Utd’s win over Arsenal (Picture: Getty)
Neville criticised Amorim’s treatment of Mainoo, a United academy graduate, and says he ‘killed him’ when he publicly declared he was competing with Red Devils captain Bruno Fernandes for a place in the team.
‘I must admit, I never liked the handling of Mainoo,’ Old Trafford legend Neville said on the Stick to Football podcast.
‘I think we talked about that a lot on this show. I never liked the handling of that.
Manchester United legend Gary Neville (Picture: Getty)
‘When he [Amorim] said at the start of the season that it was him or Bruno [Fernandes], I never agreed with that.
‘It killed Kobbie Mainoo. It killed him publicly. And then he never put him in the team at all, apart from against Grimsby in the cup.’
Carrick’s reliance on Mainoo came as no surprise as he previously said the midfielder was the type of player United could ‘build a team around’.
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‘To have a talent like that, as he’s shown already, you’ve got to have players like that,’ Carrick said back in September.
”They get it, they know it, let’s build around them. There’s definitely a place for him (Mainoo) there for sure.’
Mainoo is far from the only Manchester United player who has benefitted from Amorim’s departure, however.
Impressive wins over Man City and Arsenal has put the Red Devils back in the Champions League places ahead of Sunday’s home match against Fulham.
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