Michael Carrick has been dismissed by Manchester United, with former Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino poised to succeed him.
The decision comes only 173 days after Carrick signed a two-year contract, having guided United to third place and Champions League qualification during his interim spell. His removal was approved at a pivotal board meeting in Monaco on Wednesday.
Carrick arrived at United’s training ground at 7.50am and was informed of the decision shortly afterwards. He left at 10.18am, less than two and a half hours later. He is the first Premier League manager to lose his job this season, with bottom club Crystal Palace dismissing Pierre Sage later the same day.
United confirmed the decision in a statement issued at 10.37am. It read: ‘After a disappointing start to the season, the club has come to the extremely difficult conclusion that a change is necessary in order to achieve our ambitions.
‘Michael is, and always will be, a Manchester United legend. Just as he did as a player, he has conducted himself with the highest standards of dedication and professionalism throughout his time back with the club. His leadership and achievements last season will always be fondly remembered.’
Sources close to Manchester United say the club’s hierarchy believes the squad is considerably stronger than its performances and results under Carrick suggested. The under-fire manager was given opportunities to change the team’s direction against Chelsea, Roma and Aston Villa, but United’s decision-makers ultimately concluded that progress was not being made.
Michael Carrick, pictured arriving at Carrington on Thursday morning, has been sacked after Manchester United’s disastrous start to the season
Carrick was seen leaving the training ground less than two and a half hours after arriving
USMNT manager Mauricio Pochettino is ready to take charge as United’s new boss
Minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the Glazer family, who joined virtually from the United States, reached the verdict alongside chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox in the south of France on Wednesday. Carrick, meanwhile, remained in limbo in Manchester.
Carrick led training on Tuesday morning after reports emerged that Berrada and Wilcox were travelling to Monaco to recommend his dismissal. He also took the session on Wednesday, as United moved closer to an agreement with Pochettino.
The current United States national team manager reached a verbal agreement with Manchester United on Wednesday. The club then made a formal approach to US Soccer and will have to activate the 54-year-old Argentine’s £7million release clause.
Sunday’s extraordinary 4-4 draw with Aston Villa proved to be the decisive moment. The result left United 18th in the Premier League and deep in the relegation zone.
The handling of Carrick’s departure has placed further scrutiny on Ineos and United’s senior figures. He received no public vote of confidence after remaining in the job following an emergency board meeting prompted by the 3-0 defeat to Bournemouth.
A loss at Chelsea, where Lisandro Martinez was sent off and left his manager badly exposed, followed by victory over Roma and the draw with Villa, failed to convince the board that Carrick could reverse the team’s decline.
Carrick’s exit takes the compensation paid to coaching staff and executives during Ratcliffe and Ineos’ three years at the club close to £30million. Buying Pochettino out of his United States contract will cost a further £7m, while recruiting his sizeable coaching team is expected to require millions more.
Supporters who attend matches will be disappointed to see Carrick leave. They made their feelings clear during recent fixtures, loudly applauding him at the final whistle while directing their anger and frustration towards the players and executives.
Expectations were extremely high at the start of the campaign after Carrick’s team had been the Premier League’s best-performing side between January and May.
That momentum has completely disappeared following a chaotic opening to the new season. Carrick has lost his job just five months after signing his contract extension.
United have won only three matches this season, including one against Azerbaijani minnows FK Sabah, and have yet to keep a clean sheet in the league.
Captain Bruno Fernandes publicly questioned Carrick’s tactics, while Martinez criticised the hierarchy for leaving the manager and players exposed. Fernandes was also dropped for the first time in five years during the humiliating defeat to Bournemouth.
Further questions will now be asked of those in charge. Berrada and Wilcox are preparing to appoint their third permanent manager this year and their fourth during their tenure, having already moved on from Erik ten Hag, Ruben Amorim and Carrick since taking control of football operations in February 2024.
Omar Berrada and Jason Wilcox, pictured on Thursday morning, must now appoint a third manager this year as scrutiny intensifies on Ineos’ running of Manchester United
Sunday’s draw with Aston Villa was the final blow for the Manchester United manager
Gary Neville believes Michael Carrick will be ‘disgusted’ by Manchester United’s players
Amorim survived 14 months in the job, despite embarrassing defeats against teams such as League Two Grimsby Town. For Carrick, however, the role was a dream appointment that lasted until early November before Wilcox delivered the decision at the training ground.
After the draw with Villa, Carrick insisted he would not walk away and responded defiantly when reporters questioned his position. Following a turbulent week that exposed the divisions within the club, he has now been relieved of his duties.
Carrick leaves with 14 victories, 12 of them achieved last season before he was appointed permanently, alongside six draws and eight defeats. His record also includes this season’s Carabao Cup exit at the first hurdle against Brighton at Old Trafford.
Pochettino now faces the formidable task of reviving a Manchester United squad that has badly underperformed. Former United star Gary Neville believes the incoming manager will inherit an ‘unprofessional’ group of players.
‘They’ve teased him, haven’t they? They’ve conned [Carrick] for a few months. They have, they’ve conned him,’ Neville said recently on his Sky Sports podcast.
‘Honestly, he would never say this publicly because he’s got class. I can say it for him though.
‘He’ll look at those players with disgust. Some of them, he’ll be disgusted with some of those players.
‘A few of them aren’t that professional. I live in Manchester. Some of them aren’t that professional. So I’ve got no time for them.
‘There’s a few of them that don’t go to bed at the right time, don’t eat the right things, don’t think about Manchester United every single minute of every day, and aren’t living and breathing this football club as they should be – and as professionals should.
‘Why? Because it’s gone to their heads. They are nothing, some of those players.
‘He’s not been able to get a tune out of them and they’ve turned on him. I know that because if Bruno has turned on him publicly, with that little statement, imagine what they’re like behind the scenes.
‘If that’s your captain saying that, imagine what they’re saying in the dressing room behind closed doors when no one’s listening. That’s horrific.’
