Ruben Amorim has apologised to viral Manchester United supporter Frank Ilett, who refuses to cut his hair until the club win five matches in a row. Known on social media as 'The United Strand', Ilett began his challenge in October 2024.
Challenge began before Amorim's arrival
Amorim started his reign at Old Trafford a month later, arriving from Sporting CP to succeed former United boss Erik ten Hag. The 41-year-old struggled to hugely transform the team's fortunes, despite reaching the Europa League final, finishing 15th in his debut campaign before being dismissed in January with United sixth in the table.
During his tenure, Amorim twice oversaw three-match winning runs, but it was not enough to earn a haircut for Ilett, who intends to donate his locks to the Little Princess Trust. New AC Milan boss Amorim recently crossed paths with The United Strand and is claimed to have apologised for not ending the challenge during his time in charge of United.
Apology shared on Instagram
In an Instagram post, Ilett shared a photo standing with the ex-United boss, with the caption: "Great to meet Ruben Amorim at the @portugalfootballsummit. He saw me, pointed to my hair and said 'sorry about that!'" alongside a laughing emoji. Ilett added: "Still have love for him."
Through his challenge, Ilett is also raising money for The Little Princess Trust, which provides free real hair wigs to children and young people who have lost their hair due to cancer or other conditions. The United fan has proven to be a viral sensation and previously spoke about his hopes of getting his hair cut at Old Trafford once the Reds win five in a row.
Fan hopes for Old Trafford haircut
"There's nothing concrete yet, there a few talks. But, my ideal thing would be to get it cut at Old Trafford by one of the players," he told talkSPORT in September 2025. "I completely understand why they haven't been in contact with me, I completely get that.
"But I'm hoping once there's maybe a bit more of a positive vibe around results and things like that, if we're on four-in-a-row, then hopefully they might feel like they're in a place to sort that out for me."
United last achieved a five-match winning run under Amorim's predecessor Ten Hag in February 2024. Ilett came closest to ending his challenge at the start of Carrick's reign, as the current boss won his first four games in charge before drawing with West Ham in February.
Amorim settling at Milan
Having initially made his pledge on October 5 2024, it will be more than two years since The United Strand's last haircut when the task is finally over. United drew their most recent game with Fulham before the international break and are not back in action until October 10 against Tottenham Hotspur.
Meanwhile, Amorim has made a steady start to the season at Milan, with the club sitting fifth in Serie A. The Portuguese coach recently admitted he is willing to learn from the errors of his United reign, which notably saw him stick to his favoured back-three formation.
"I can't repeat my mistakes from Manchester," Amorim said. "If we don't have the characteristics to play a certain way, we have to adapt. We'll go back to building with three, but we'll see. Here in Italy, the coaches are very good, especially at going after other teams one-on-one."
