Carrick waves to cameras as he arrives at Man Utd Carrington training ground Thursday morning with questions still surrounding his future at the club
* Mauricio Pochettino set to be appointed after worst start to Premier League season
Sky Sports News
Michael Carrick has been sacked by Manchester United less than six months after signing a two-year deal with USA manager Mauricio Pochettino verbally agreeing to take over after Carrick oversaw United’s worst-ever Premier League start.
Mauricio Pochettino
Man United are in the relegation zone after 10 league games. In a statement on Thursday morning, shortly after Carrick left the training ground, United said they reached “the extremely difficult conclusion that a change is necessary in order to achieve our ambitions”.
United, who have an agreement in place with USA head coach Pochettino, say they intend to appoint a permanent successor “as quickly as possible”. He is set to be the eighth permanent appointment since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.
As things stand, the Argentine is likely to remain in charge of the USA for their Nations League against Haiti on Saturday and Wednesday before starting work next Thursday.
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Sky Sports News understands Pochettino has a £7m release clause in his newly-signed contract with the USA. Talks with the United Soccer Federation are expected to gather pace in the coming days.
Carrick took training in Manchester on Wednesday as United reached a verbal agreement with Pochettino.
Meanwhile, club chiefs were at a Monaco summit with minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe. That is where the decision to sack Carrick was ratified by Ratcliffe following the recommendation of chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox.
Carrick’s exit follows Man United’s 4-4 draw against Aston Villa on Sunday, when they fell 2-0 down inside four minutes and then 4-2 down early in the second half before mounting a last-gasp comeback to draw.
The rescue job followed a similar turnaround to beat Roma in the Champions League last Tuesday but was not enough to convince the United hierarchy to continue with the former midfielder in charge.
Jonny Evans and Jonathan Woodgate, who were part of the coaching set up under Carrick, are also expected to leave.
Carrick was initially appointed as United boss in January 2026 on a contract until the end of the season, following Ruben Amorim’s sacking earlier in that campaign.
He delivered a brilliant run of results, winning 12 of 17 matches to earn a third-place finish in the Premier League and a return to the Champions League.
Carrick was nominated for Premier League Manager of the Season and, on May 22, signed a new contract running to 2028. However, just three wins in 15 matches this term have cost him his job.
Former Tottenham, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain boss Pochettino has been considered for the United job on three previous occasions, but finally now looks set for the Old Trafford hot seat.
“You can keep changing the manager and thinking that’s going to be the answer. But this has been proven now over 12 years, that’s not the answer,” says Sky Sports‘ Gary Neville.
“It’s rinse and repeat. Ruben Amorim, Erik ten Hag, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Carrick, Jose Mourinho, Louis van Gaal, David Moyes, Ralf Rangnick — some of them are world-class managers who have had success. There are a lot of promising young managers there, ex-players who know the club as well.
“None of it has worked because if you’ve got a poor performance department, poor recruitment department, you’ve not got leadership that is strong right through the spine of the football club you will fail.”
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