Gary Neville rules out Michael Carrick as Man Utd manager ‘even if he wins every game’
Gary Neville does not think Michael Carrick should be appointed Manchester United manager beyond the end of 2025/26, “even if he wins every single game”.
Carrick has been placed in interim charge until the end of the season after the Red Devils decided to sack Ruben Amorim.
Tuchel among managers linked with Man Utd job
Carrick is being assessed during his interim spell as United weigh up a permanent appointment this summer.
England boss Thomas Tuchel is under contract until after this summer’s World Cup and has previously held talks with United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, while Crystal Palace’s Oliver Glasner and Paris Saint-Germain’s Luis Enrique are also out of contract.
Ratcliffe reportedly wants an elite, title-winning manager rather than a younger coach tasked with leading a long-term project.
It is an interesting philosophy considering how far this group of players are from competing for the Premier League title, but the club’s hierarchy want to restore the glory days as soon as possible.
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Michael Carrick shouldn’t be Man Utd manager ‘even if he wins every game’
Even if Carrick shows every indication that he is capable of doing just that, Neville believes he should not be considered.
Speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, Neville said: “I hope Michael does really well.
“We could be sat here at the end of the season with the fans up, with the team fifth in the table and back in the Champions League spots, and we could all be getting swayed with it.
“But there cannot be any consideration that Michael takes the job beyond the end of this season, for the sake of Michael and the club, even if he wins every single game.”
Neville added that the entire process of appointing an interim manager feels like groundhog day for United, who sit seventh in the Premier League.
“When Amorim was sacked and you started hearing the names Michael, Ole [Gunnar Solskjaer], Ruud [van Nistelrooy], it felt a bit sad, like ‘We’re here again’,” he said.
“We’ve been there before with Ole, with Giggsy [Ryan Giggs] when David Moyes was sacked. We’ve seen this movie before.
“I don’t think there was any other option for the club right now. Most United fans will agree with the decision to get to the end of the season because of the managers who are becoming available.
“But if they weren’t to get the manager in the summer, there will be massive pressure. They must be thinking they’re going to get one of the big ones, otherwise they wouldn’t have appointed a bridge now.”
Who will replace Ruben Amorim at Man Utd?
Manchester United have been linked with the following managers ahead of the summer:
- Luis Enrique
- Xabi Alonso
- Thomas Tuchel
- Julian Nagelsmann
- Oliver Glasner
- Andoni Iraola
- Carlo Ancelotti
- Mauricio Pochettino
- Eddie Howe
- Gareth Southgate
- Diego Simeone
- Michael Carrick
The current favourite with the bookmakers to be United’s manager next season is Carrick. Much will depend on whether he can guide the Red Devils back into the Champions League. Do that, and Ratcliffe, Jason Wilcox and Omar Berrada would need to be brave to pick someone else.
