Bernardo Silva has hailed Manchester United’s move for Ruben Amorim and believes he has made an ‘unbelievable’ impact at Sporting.
Amorim has signed a three-year deal with United following the club’s decision to sack Erik ten Hag last week.
The 39-year-old has guided Sporting to two league titles since taking charge of the Portuguese club in March 2020 and has gained plaudits for his brand of attacking football.
Silva and Manchester City face Sporting in the Champions League on Tuesday night in what will be Amorim’s penultimate game in Lisbon before he takes up his new role as United manager next Monday.
And ahead of the match, the City midfielder says Amorim has turned Sporting into a ‘big machine’.
‘Before he [Amorim] arrived, Sporting came from a period of almost 20 years without winning the league,’ Silva said.
‘Since he’s been there, not only him but the president and the sporting director, it looks like they all went in the same direction. And when that happens, when people are competent, and have the same idea and go the same way, the chances of doing well, the job, are much higher.
‘Then as a manager, tactically, you can see that he’s really good, you can see the way he prepares his teams. It was never this [inconsistent], it was always going upwards, better and better after each season. They [Sporting] are a big machine right now. I only have compliments because they’ve been flying in the Portuguese league. It’s going to be very tough to beat them tomorrow the way they’ve been playing.
‘In terms of him going to Manchester United, I don’t wish him very well, as you can imagine, because he’s going to be my rival.
‘But he deserves what he got, he deserves to be in one of the best clubs in the world right now because the work that he has done for the last few years has been unbelievable.
‘He will be a rival but I am glad someone else from Portugal is in the best league in the world.’
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