Manchester United announced early on Friday that Michael Carrick had decided to leave the club from his role as first-team coach. The decision follows his brief stint as caretaker manager.
Manchester United released a statement on Carrick's decision minutes after the club won 3-2 against Arsenal. In the statement, Carrick referred to his time with the club, starting as a player.
Carrick played 464 games for Manchester United between 2006 and 2018 and was part of teams that won five Premier League titles, the FA Cup, two League Cups, the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Europa League and the FIFA Club World Cup.
Carrick joined the Manchester United coaching staff after retiring in 2018 and worked under Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Carrick had taken over as caretaker manager on November 21. “In his three games in charge, he led United to wins over Villarreal and Arsenal and a draw against Chelsea,” ESPN reported.
In the statement, 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... 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 (new interim manager Ralf Rangnick), 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.”
The Guardian reported that Carrick mentioned the impending arrival of Rangnick, and his feelings towards Solskjaer as factors in his departure.
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“It is 100 per cent my decision. I respect a new manager coming in. I made the decision before speaking to him. It wasn’t an easy one but [it is the] right decision for the club. The loyalty to Ole is a little bit of a factor but there were a lot of things that came into my decision. I was conscious of making my decision before any real conversations with Ralf. I wanted to be clear-cut. It was nothing personal at all. He’s got a good group of players to work with and hopefully we’ll look back at this as being a big result," Carrick was quoted as saying by The Guardian.
Manchester United captain Harry Maguire referred to Carrick as a legend. “... he's been a big part of this club for a large number of years as a player but also as a coach. He's been a great player for this club, a legend at the club, he's won everything at the club and he's been a fantastic servant in terms of his coaching. He's a really likeable man, all the lads respect him and he's been amazing with each and every one of us,” Maguire was quoted as saying by ESPN.
Ralf Rangnick will take charge as manager from Friday until the end of the season. Manchester United announced on Thursday that Rangnick, a German, had received his work permit.