RUBEN AMORIM’S ‘bromance’ with Hugo Viana will survive no matter who wins Sunday’s Manchester derby — their other halves will see to that.
United chief Amorim and City’s director of football have been close pals since they played together for Braga back in the 2012-13 season.
But these days they do not have much choice but to spend time together — as their wives are business partners and best mates.
Amorim’s missus Maria Joao Diogo and Viana’s better half Raquel Gomes are the co-owners of interior design firm Dois Tons.
So it is no wonder the two families spend a lot of their downtime in each other’s company — despite being on opposite sides of the great Manchester divide.
This weekend has been circled on the calendar for both families since the Prem fixtures were announced.
It will not exactly be Friends Reunited as they face off for the first time at the Etihad — because they are rarely apart for long.
The two men hit it off when they met 13 years ago and also spent four years together at Sporting.
When Viana was confirmed as Txiki Begiristain’s successor at City last October, many thought Amorim would follow him to Manchester.
And he did — landing a new job there just three weeks later… only it was at Old Trafford.
While Viana only took over officially this summer, he has been working at the Etihad alongside Begiristain since early April — and was a regular visitor before that.
Their friendship has survived the fact they are in rival camps. The two families often meet for meals on the outskirts of Manchester.
And if one family is heading back to their homeland for a visit, they will be sure to bring back a few Portuguese treats for their friends.
Viana and Amorim also watch the latest action from the Portuguese league, as both remain passionate followers of their former clubs.
A friend of both said: “It’s a bromance without borders — they’re almost part of each other’s families. That bond won’t change just because they work for rival teams.
“They respect each other’s boundaries as they work for different teams. They help each other a lot with daily life in Manchester.”
When they were thrown together at Braga, their connection was instant — despite their differences.
They were very different types of players and hailed from opposite sides of Lisbon — one at Benfica and the other at Sporting.
However, they enjoyed each other’s company off the pitch and it was Viana who encouraged his pal to explore a move into management.
He even started to call Amorim ‘coach’ while they were team-mates.
In 2020, it was Viana who pushed Sporting to pay the £17million buy-out clause to Braga to get his friend.
The decision paid dividends as they spent four glittering years at the Estadio Jose Alvalade together.
When Amorim’s opportunity came at United, the first man to ring and congratulate him was Viana.
Ex-Newcastle star Viana has been of great support as his mate goes through some tough times at the Theatre of Dreams.
Yet it will be every man for himself for 90 minutes on Sunday.
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