Ruben Amorim insists there is no agreement in place for him to become Liverpool’s next manager.
Reports earlier this week suggested that the Sporting Lisbon head coach had verbally agreed a contract to succeed Jurgen Klopp this summer.
Senior Anfield figures were adamant that is not the case and now Amorim has denied he has held direct talks with Liverpool over the vacancy.
“I did not meet Liverpool for any interview and there’s no agreement — it’s not true,” he said at a press conference on Thursday.
“I’m Sporting manager, I want to win here and I didn’t meet any club. Nothing has been agreed.
“Stop with this story. This is the last time I speak about my future.”
Amorim emerged as the favourite to take over from Klopp last month following Xabi Alonso’s decision to remain at Bayer Leverkusen.
The 39-year-old is on the brink of leading Sporting to the Portuguese title. They are four points clear of city rivals Benfica with a game in hand.
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More on Amorim’s future
The Athletic’s David Ornstein was asked about Amorim’s future during his Q&A with subscribers last week. This is what he said:
My most recent information is that he is very much in the frame for Liverpool — but not Barcelona — and conversations have taken place. But despite many on the outside suggesting he is the top target, I’m not sure that’s the case internally; not because someone else is or he won’t become that, but because there isn’t one while Liverpool continue with what will be a thorough process.
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Clearly, Amorim is a wanted man and I definitely expect him to leave Sporting this summer. I hear the Premier League is his preference and, while we don’t know for sure yet, there could well be multiple vacancies. So even if Liverpool do decide to go for him, he will also need to decide if they are where he wants to go. Whoever takes Amorim will need to pay Sporting for his services; I’ve been told the figure this summer is €10million (£8.58m; $10.9m).
Others have reported higher but, whatever the precise figure, it is a lot lower than it was when Chelsea spoke to him before appointing both Graham Potter and then Mauricio Pochettino.
An additional point worth mentioning is that one of Amorim’s key staff members is Paulo Barreira, who is an injury prevention/conditioning expert and used to work for Liverpool. If things do develop in the direction of Amorim to Liverpool, Barreira is probably someone to keep an eye on.
(Patricia de Melo Moreira/AFP via Getty Images)
