Who is Paulo Barreira? The ex-Liverpool coach joining Ruben Amorim at Man Utd

For Liverpool, the transition to a new coaching team was seamless and the Reds’ new head coach, Arne Slot, currently has his side sat top of the Premier League.

When Jurgen Klopp announced he would be leaving Liverpool at the end of last season in January of this year, many supporters feared that his departure would lead to years of turmoil.

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These fears weren’t baseless as similar has happened at the Reds’ biggest rivals Manchester United since legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson left over a decade ago.

Since 2013 Manchester United have been in what seems like a constant state of turmoil and no manager has been able to lead them back to the success they experienced under Ferguson.

Now, one time candidate for the Liverpool job, Ruben Amorim has been given the reigns at Old Trafford and he’s taking a former Liverpool employee with him.

Paulo Barreira will join Amorim at Manchester United

As well as a new manager, Manchester United have made numerous other backroom appointments, and former Liverpool physiotherapist Paulo Barreira has been appointed to the role of lead sports scientist.

Barreira joined the Reds in 2011 and worked under Brendan Rodgers until 2014. He also undertook his PhD at Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU), completing his scholarship with a PhD thesis on hamstring injury prevention.

Since leaving Liverpool, Barreira has also worked for Al-Ahli, Al Jazira, Arsenal and most recently under Amorim at Sporting CP.

Barreira is greatly respected in the world of academia as well as the world of football, and his move to Manchester has earned him some glowing reviews from former colleagues at LJMU.

Dr Mark Robinson, a reader in biomechanics in the LJMU Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Science, told the LJMU website: “[Barreira] was always a very hard worker and fiercely determined to get his PhD despite having a very full-on job over in Anfield.

“Paulo continues to produce high quality research. One of his PhD papers on load monitoring in football has an impressive 118 citations.”

Although it will be hard for Liverpool supporters to see a former Anfield employee sitting in the dugout at Old Trafford, Barreira is unlikely to have much impact on how Manchester United play, and Arne Slot will have the chance to get one over on his new rival Amorim when the two sides meet at Anfield on January 5.

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