Gary Neville has criticised Ruben Amorim’s treatment of Manchester United midfielder Kobbie Mainoo, stating that the ex-Red Devils boss “killed him” with one decision.

Mainoo only started 16 times under Amorimduring his 14-month reign as head coach.

Why Kobbie Mainoo struggled under Ruben Amorim

• Started just 16 matches under Amorim
• Competing with undroppable captain Bruno Fernandes
• Public comments suggested he was second choice
• Limited opportunities

He played 40 times in total but was competing for a starting spot with Bruno Fernandes, which Amorim stated publicly, all but confirming that he would never play.

Manchester Unitedlegend Neville has singled out the decision to say Mainoo is fighting for Fernandes’ place, claiming that the Portuguese coach publicly “killed” the 20-year-old.

“I must admit, I never liked the handling of Mainoo,” Neville said on the Stick to Footballpodcast. “I think we talked about that a lot on this show. I never liked the handling of that.

“When he (Ruben) said at the start of the season that it was him or Bruno [Fernandes], I never agreed with that. It killed him. It killed him publicly. And then he never put him in the team at all, apart from Grimsby.”

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Neville claims Amorim’s comments damaged Mainoo’s United career

Nevilleadded that Mainoo’s performances in Michael Carrick’s two games proved that Amorim was wrong to freeze out the England midfielder.

“When you watch Kobbie now in the two games, that was nearly pushing a talented player out of the club before he’d even really had a chance to perform,” he continued. “You look at him now in these two matches.”

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Mainoo revived under Carrick after Amorim sacking

Darren Fletcher took caretaker charge of two United matches following Amorim’s dismissal and was replaced by Carrick until the end of the season.

Fletcher immediately decided to reinstate Mainoo to the starting line-up and those minutes set him in good stead to thrive in Carrick’s opening two fixtures, wins against the Premier League’s top two, Manchester City and Arsenal.

Mainoo played the full 90 minutes in both matches, partnering Casemiro in a deeper role, with Fernandes as a No.10 behind Bryan Mbeumo.

He provided the assist for Matheus Cunha’s winner at Arsenal on Sunday and already looks back to his very best, which is also a significant boost for England ahead of this summer’s World Cup.

England boost as Kobbie Mainoo returns to form

When Mainoo broke into the United team under Erik ten Hag, he was only 18 years old, and less than eight months later, he was starting in the European Championship final for his country.

Mainoo made his England debut in March 2024 in a friendly against Brazil at Wembley, and he featured in six of the Three Lions’ seven Euro 2024 matches, including the final defeat to Spain.

He has not played under current head coach Thomas Tuchel, who replaced previous manager Gareth Southgate, but if he stays fit and maintains this level of performance, he should be included in the German’s squad for the March friendlies against Uruguay and Japan.

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