Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick will become the club’s assistant manager as of next season, manager Jose Mourinho has confirmed. The 36-year-old is hanging up his boots this summer and will make the transition into coaching, replacing Mourinho’s long-time assistant Rui Faria who has been linked with a move to Arsenal.
Carrick joined United from Tottenham Hotspur in 2006 and has gone on to make more than 450 appearances in all competitions for the Red Devils. The ex-England international has spent this season on the periphery, making only five appearances across the board, as a heart condition kept him off the pitch.
With his playing career coming to an end, Carrick was invited to work with Mourinho as a coach, but with Faria ending his 17-year partnership with the United boss to become a manager in his own right, the ex-midfielder will now be the next No.2.
Mourinho said: “I am going to have assistant coaches, fitness coaches and a structure where we have specialists in different areas connected to performance. The particular reason is I think it will be Michael Carrick in the future — when he has his badges.
“Then he can make the bridge between a player to an assistant. When Rui is leaving after 17 years, I have nobody in the world of football ready to be my assistant. So, I prefer to structure my staff in a way where there is education and improvement.”
Carrick was regarded as an intelligent midfielder with real tactical nous when he was still playing. He captained United on a number of occasions and has been rated highly by his peers and coaches. It’s a big call by Mourinho to have the Englishman as his No.2 but says a lot of how well he’s regarded.
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