Kobbie Mainoo seems to have taken a subtle swipe at Ruben Amorim after he was sacked by Manchester United. The sidelined academy product 'liked' a social media post discussing the decision made by United's management on Monday, which concluded the Portuguese manager's 14-month stint.

The 20-year-old has only featured in 11 out of a possible 20 Premier League matches this season, all as a substitute. His absence from the starting line-up has been a frequent topic of discussion during press conferences with Amorim, who struggled to impose his style on the team. This led to rumours that Mainoo was planning to depart Old Trafford in pursuit of more playing time.

Following Monday's news, the midfielder seemed to approve of a social media post about Amorim's departure.

An Instagram account linked to the player was listed among those who liked a post from the page 'thatguysjokes', which shared a series of images and memes about Amorim's exit.

One of the screenshots included a tweet echoing a report that Amorim and his coaching staff left the training ground "laughing and joking". The caption read: "I'd be laughing too after getting a £10mil payout."

In December, Amorim attempted to quash speculation about a potential Mainoo departure, declaring that the England international represented the 'future' of the club.

He said: "Kobbie Mainoo will have the opportunity he has all the time. He played in different positions.

"We talked about the position of Casemiro, he can do that. If you play with a three, he can play like we did in the last game with the position of Mason Mount, he can play there.

"He is going to be the future of Manchester United, that is my feeling, he just needs to wait for his chance and everything can change in football in two days."

However, the midfielder has recently found himself in the spotlight for less favourable reasons.

Last month, his half-brother wore a T-shirt during United's stalemate with Bournemouth, emblazoned with the words: "Free Kobbie Mainoo."

Amorim addressed the situation: "It was not Kobbie that wore the T-shirt. He's not going to start because of the T-shirt but he's not going to the bench because of the T-shirt. He's going to play if we feel that he's the right guy to play.

"That is not an issue. I'm used to it, I'm here for a year, it's not new. So we have to deal with that.

"But I'm not going to do something to Kobbie because someone in his family is doing something. It's going to be the same. If he's the right guy to play, he's going to play."

Mainoo will be eager to demonstrate his worth and reclaim his place in the side, with Darren Fletcher now steering the club on an interim basis.

The former Scotland midfielder is set to experience his first stint in senior management, having previously worked as a first-team coach under Erik ten Hag and as a technical director.

He assumed the position of lead coach for the under-18s in July 2025.