MY ACCOUNT
Michael Carrick has decided to leave Manchester United following the conclusion of his spell as caretaker manager, the club have confirmed.
Former United midfielder Carrick was placed in temporary charge after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was relieved of his duties following a humiliating 4-1 loss to Watford.
He oversaw a 2-0 win at Villarreal that sent United into the Champions League knockouts and a 1-1 draw with Premier League leaders Chelsea, before Ralf Rangnick was confirmed as the new interim boss on Monday.
Rangnick, who was waiting on visa clearance to take charge of the team, watched from the stands as Carrick steered United to a 3-2 win over Arsenal at Old Trafford on Thursday.
The club released a statement shortly after the final whistle to announce that he would not stay on and serve as a coach under Rangnick.
Carrick said: “My time at this great club will always rank as the best years of my career. When I first signed over 15 years ago, I never in my wildest dreams could have imagined winning so many trophies and I will certainly never forget the fantastic memories both as a player and as a member of the coaching team.
“However, after a lot of thought and deliberation, I have decided that now is the right time for me to leave the club. I want to place on record my thanks to all of the players and a special mention goes to the backroom staff, working long hours with such a great group of people has been a real pleasure and I have made some long-lasting friendships.
“I am, and will always be, a Manchester United fan and will come to as many matches as possible. I would like to wish Ralf, the staff, the players and the fans all the best for the future and I look forward to being in the stands and supporting the boys as a fan.”
Carrick made 464 appearances for United between 2006 and 2018, with five Premier League successes and Champions League glory among the 11 titles he won with the club.
He joined the first-team coaching staff after his retirement and worked under Jose Mourinho and Solskjaer.
Carrick added to Amazon Prime: “It’s not been an easy [decision] to make but I feel it’s the right one. I meant to take some time off after I finished playing, I promised the family we’d have some time together and it never happened!
“It’s just the right time. It’s 100 per cent my decision. I wanted to make the decision before I spoke to him [Rangnick]. There was a responsibility on me to see these three games through.
“I owe Ole an awful lot. There’s a lot of things that came into my decision. I just said to the players and staff, the way we worked together, there are good, good people in there. Sometimes you get what you deserve, and sometimes you don’t.
“I’m proud of the players over the last three games. In some ways, this was the perfect night. They [the players] were a bit shocked, surprised, a little bit emotional in the changing room. I just about kept it together! It’s not been easy to keep it away from people in the last few days, but I was desperate to win the game tonight.
“Hopefully, we can build on this. We’ve had to dig deep this week and show a side to us that people have maybe questioned in recent times. There’s a hell of a group of players in there. I really believe there’s a successful team in there – whether it’s this season or next season.”
Asked about managing a club in the future, Carrick replied: “I can honestly say I’ve given it literally no thought. I’ve been so wrapped up in this week and getting through tonight.”
