Manchester United captain, Michael Carrick has announced he’ll retire at the end of the season and will likely join Jose Mourinho coaching staff in the summer.
The 36-year-old who joined the Red Devils from Tottenham Hotspur in 2006 has been restricted to three starts after undergoing a heart procedure in September and will hang his boots when the season curtain draws a close.
The Old Trafford club captain told a news conference on Monday: “There comes a time, wether you like it or you don’t like it, that your body tells you it is time to stop playing football. That’s pretty much where I’m at. It’s something that you have got to accept.”
Mourinho has said he would be keen to add Carrick to his first-team coaching staff and the former England international admits there is a good chance he could be on the bench from next season.
He added: “It’s kind of been sorted out, but we’re still talking about it so there is nothing to totally confirm yet. It’s looking likely.”
Carrick has played a limited role for United this season after undergoing a routine heart procedure following a League Cup tie with Burton in September.
He has since started FA Cup games against Yeovil and Huddersfield and, ahead of the Champions League round-of-16 second leg with Sevilla at Old Trafford on Tuesday, he insists he is keen to play a part on the pitch between now and the end of the season.
He said:
“I had a problem during the Burton game during the second half. I had a few tests after that and the same problem came back on the Sunday of that week in training.
“I had the procedure the following week. It took a little while to get over. There were some times there, two or three days, when I wondered whether I would carry on playing or not, is it worth it or not?
“But that quickly passed and I got back fit. I wanted to finish on my own terms so I was determined to get back fit.
“I’ve been training hard and we’ll see what happens for the rest of the season.”
‘A piano & a Rolls Royce’
Pep Guardiola: “He is one of the best holding midfielders I’ve ever seen in my life by far. He’s the level of Xabi Alonso, Sergio Busquets in Barcelona and Munich.”
Sir Alex Ferguson: “I think Michael’s the best central midfielder in English football. I think he’s the best English player in the game.”
Gary Neville: “Scholes and Carrick together was peaceful. It was like going into a bar and hearing a piano playing. It’s relaxing. Listening to some good rock is good and you like that too but sometimes it’s nice to listen to a piano. Carrick’s a piano.”
Paul Scholes: “He was like a Rolls Royce, just cruising around the football pitch.”
Jose Mourinho: “He is phenomenal, it’s a pity he is not 25. It’s a pity you can’t stop the clock.”
Arsene Wenger: “One of my regrets is never having had him as a player because I think he was one of the greatest players in English football.”
Michael Carrick
Premier League – 5
Champions League – 1
Europa League – 1
FA Cup – 1
League Cup – 3
Club World Cup – 1The most underrated footballer to have completed football. Legend.
— Utd (@SimplyUtd) March 12, 2018
Michael Carrick one of Ferguson’s most important signings. Helped Scholes reinvent himself & his arrival sparked one of the most vibrant periods of football #mufc produced under Fergie. Had a long post-2008 Champions League final slump but pivotal in Ferguson’s last two seasons.
— Samuel Luckhurst (@samuelluckhurst) March 12, 2018
