The root cause of Mourinho's fallout with Manchester United revealed! Pogba is not to blame; Glazer's insistence on keeping one player sparked the conflict.

Ruben Amorim has recently faced significant criticism at Manchester United over youth development issues. During the Premier League pre-match press conference, he openly stated that last season he was forced to use academy players such as Chidozie Obbi and Harry Armas, who did not truly reach first-team quality. The 40-year-old Portuguese coach added that this season Obbi cannot even secure a regular spot in the U21 reserves, while Armas is only able to play for Sheffield Wednesday, who are bottom of the Championship.

Amorim's remarks mainly stem from persistent English media coverage criticizing Kobe Meno’s lack of Premier League starting opportunities this season. However, the Manchester Evening News reported that the youth academy system was deeply disappointed by his recent comments. Both Armas and Obbi subtly rebutted Amorim’s statements on social media.

Among them, 18-year-old Armas shared a photo commemorating his award as Sheffield Wednesday’s Player of the Month, while 17-year-old Obbi posted a celebration picture after scoring for the youth team. Adding to the suspicion, both players later deleted their photos, which strongly suggested these actions were a direct response to Amorim’s comments.

Amorim’s approach recalls his mentor Mourinho, the Portuguese "Special One," who used to publicly criticize players at Manchester United, hoping to motivate them to prove themselves. Unfortunately, this generation of players did not accept this method; only a few, like McTominay, embraced the challenge, and eventually Mourinho’s relationships with many players deteriorated.

French star Pogba is widely seen as the main reason behind Mourinho’s dismissal. Mourinho benched Pogba during the Champions League knockout stage, and after the coach was sacked, the French midfielder celebrated on social media. They even had a public argument during a live training session broadcast on Sky Sports UK. However, the Daily Mail revealed that Mourinho’s relationship with United’s top management, including owner Joel Glazer and then-executive vice chairman Ed Woodward, had already begun to deteriorate before the Pogba issue surfaced. The key figure causing this divide was another French player, Martial.

Now having just turned 30, Martial can only play in Mexico, where he has failed to score in 12 matches since joining this season, continuing the goal drought he experienced at AEK Athens in Greece. His last goal was scored eight months ago. The once-promising "Golden Boy" has completely declined, with the peak of his career still being his debut goal against Liverpool for Manchester United.

English media disclosed that Mourinho had long been unhappy with Martial’s lazy attitude. During the 2018 preseason, an angry Mourinho told familiar journalists that he would "spare no effort" to sell Martial. While on tour in the U.S., at a press conference in San Jose, he publicly stated he could not guarantee Martial would be allowed to leave the club. However, after leaving the room, he privately told three trusted reporters that he would do everything possible to facilitate the transfer of the French winger.

Martial, who calls himself a "family man," insisted on leaving to return home because his girlfriend was about to give birth in Paris. This angered Mourinho, who already knew Martial’s multiple infidelities meant he was far from a good man and suspected other motives behind his desire to leave training camp. Unfortunately, the Glazer family and the "Big Three" sided with Martial. Joel Glazer especially favored the French winger, even likening him to Old Trafford’s Pele, refusing Mourinho’s request to sell him and instead initiating contract renewal talks.

The 2018/19 preseason was a torment for Mourinho. The club’s board did not meet his demands—not only did they refuse to sell players, but they also only signed three players: Fred, Lee Grant, and Diogo Dalot, which fell far short of the coach’s expectations. Having finished second in the Premier League the previous season, Mourinho hoped to bring in more players to compete with Guardiola’s Manchester City for the title.

However, the Manchester United management was content with modest gains, rejecting a £70 million bid for Maguire on the grounds that Mourinho had already spent £60 million in the previous two years on defenders Eric Bailly and Lindelöf. Ironically, a year later, the Red Devils spent £80 million to sign Maguire under Solskjær. Many fans regret that if Mourinho had received the same level of player transfer support as Ten Hag or Amorim, Manchester United’s trajectory might have been entirely different.