Incoming Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has admitted that he had considered following Sporting Lisbon's director of football Hugo Viana to Manchester City before agreeing to take the reins at Old Trafford.
Before Amorim's appointment as Man United boss was confirmed last Friday, the highly-rated 39-year-old was regularly linked with a move to the Premier League.
Both Liverpool and West Ham United are said to have considered appointing Amorim, while the Portuguese was recently tipped to potentially succeed Pep Guardiola at Man City, with his contract expiring next summer.
Indeed, Amorim was tipped to follow in the footsteps of his right-hand man at Sporting, Viana, who will become Man City's new director of football at the end of this season.
Although Amorim has revealed that the prospect of following his close friend to the Etihad Stadium had 'crossed his mind', he has insisted that he never had doubts about succeeding Erik ten Hag at Man United.
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Amorim: 'Man City move crossed my mind'
Speaking at a press conference ahead of Sporting's Champions League clash with Man City on Tuesday, Amorim said: "Obviously [a move to Man City is] something which crossed my mind, but I never had any doubt [about joining Man United].
"My decision has been made, that's the club I want to work for, the context I want to be in, and where I want to continue my career.
"I didn't want anything else. It is a decision I thought about but was not undecided about it. I wanted Man Utd and that's what I did."
Amorim has joked that he will be revered as the next Sir Alex Ferguson if his Sporting side beat Man City, but he has insisted that his immediate focus in on his current role and not his future job at Man United.
Asked whether he could become a Man United hero with a win on Tuesday before he even takes up his new role next week, Amorim said: "I don't think about it. My focus is about winning the match, and winning it for Sporting.
"Then, the conclusions people will draw are not important for me. They could be erroneous. If it is a very negative outcome, the expectations will drop. That's not exactly a poor starting point to start at Man United.
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Amorim focused on Sporting ahead of Man United move
"If we win tomorrow, people will think the new Sir Alex Ferguson has arrived - and that will be difficult to live up to!
"So I'm not interested what conclusions what people draw. I'm interested in winning the match, having a good farewell and then after that starting a new life in Man United.
"It could increase expectations, it could lower them. I don't know what is better for me when I start my new adventure in Manchester.
"What I want is to leave the Sporting fans and my players happy, and to qualify for the playoffs."
Amorim, who has also opened up on a "very tough" week for him personally, will take charge of two more games as Sporting manager before officially beginning his new role at Man United on November 11.
Oliver Thomas
