Amorim Sends Clear Message on Kobbie Mainoo’s Inclusion in Man Utd Squad

He's not Going to Start.. Amorim Sends Clear Message on Kobbie Mainoo’s Inclusion in Man Utd Squad

Aishik Das

Modified - Dec 19, 2025, 05:09 PM

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He's not going to start.. Amorim Sends Clear Message on Kobbie Mainoo’s Inclusion in Man Utd Squad

Summary

Ruben Amorim has stated that Kobbie Mainoo will only play when he believes it is the right time, not depending on his brother's performance at Old Trafford.
Kobbie Mainoo's half-brother wore a ‘Free Kobbie Mainoo’ shirt in the game against Bournemouth, which ended 4-4.

Manchester United are in a pretty respectable position after the first 16 games in the league, compared to last season. The Red Devils are currently placed 6th in the Premier League despite performing inconsistently at times. But Ruben Amorim has managed to change the culture at the club since his arrival, & that is quite visible to the naked eye.

However, fans are not happy with the current situation of Kobbie Mainoo, who has been frozen out of the squad all of a sudden by the Portuguese manager. Mainoo was performing quite well last season and even won the U21 Euros with England, but still finding it hard to break through into the starting XI. He has just played 212 minutes this season, the majority of them coming off the bench.

Recently, Ruben Amorim was asked if the Englishman could find a place in his starting eleven ahead of the game against one of the most successful clubs in the Premier League, Aston Villa, on Saturday. Let's go through the excerpts from his press conference to find out how the Portuguese responded.

Amorim Confirms that Kobbie Mainoo will Play When the Time is Right

The pre-match presser of Ruben Amorim gave us a lot of questions to ponder upon. Amorim was asked by a reporter if Kobbie Mainoo would find a place in his eleven after what his brother did in United's 4-4 draw against Bournemouth at home in the last fixture. Ruben Amorim promptly replied that he hadn't talked about the issue with Mainoo, as he wasn't the one who did it. He further mentioned that Mainoo will only play when he decides it is the right time.

He's not going to start because of the t-shirt but he's not going to the bench because of the t-shirt.

In case you want to have an understanding of the situation, Kobbie Mainoo's half-brother was seen wearing a black t-shirt which read ‘Free Kobbie Mainoo’ at Old Trafford in the game against Bournemouth. While experts have criticised the act, an official statement from the player himself is still due. Nevertheless, Ruben Amorim has made it clear that Mainoo's inclusion or exclusion from the squad doesn't depend on what was written on the t-shirt.