Michael Carrick (born 28 July 1981) is an English professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

coach and former player who was most recently the head coach of club

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

. He is considered as one of the best midfielders of his generation and is known for his 12-year playing career with Manchester United, whom he also captained. Carrick was a

defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

, but he was used as an emergency

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

under

Alex Ferguson Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish former professional football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as the greatest manager of all time and ...

, David Moyes,

Louis van Gaal Aloysius Paulus Maria "Louis" van Gaal (; born 8 August 1951) is a Dutch former association football, football player and former manager who currently serves as an advisor for AFC Ajax, Ajax. At club level, he served as manager of AFC Ajax, Aj ...

and

José Mourinho José Mário dos Santos Mourinho Félix (; born 26 January 1963) is a Portuguese professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player, who is currently the head coach of Süper Lig club Fenerba ...

. His playing style was grounded in his passing ability. Carrick began his career at

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

, joining the youth team in 1997 and winning the FA Youth Cup two years later. He was sent on loan twice during his debut season, to

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded as Swindon A ...

and

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

, before securing a place in the first team by the 2000–01 season. He experienced relegation in the 2002–03 season and was voted into the PFA First Division Team of the Year in the following campaign. He made more than 150 appearances for ''the Hammers'', and in 2004, he moved to rival London club

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

for a fee believed to be £3.5 million. He played an influential role at the club for two seasons before moving to Manchester United in 2006 for £14 million. From his debut onwards, Carrick was a regular in the Manchester United first team, making more than 50 appearances in his first season with them. He established himself as a key member of the team that won the Premier League in 2006–07, their first title success in four years. The following season he was part of the side that won the 2008 Champions League final, playing the full 120 minutes as they enjoyed a 6–5 penalty shootout win, with Carrick converting his spot kick, to help achieve the European Double. As of 2024, he is one of only two English players alongside former teammate

Wayne Rooney Wayne Mark Rooney (born 24 October 1985) is an English professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Association football, player who was most recently the head coach of EFL Championship club Plymouth Argyle F.C., Pl ...

to win the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

title,

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

, League Cup,

FA Community Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is Football in England, English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA ...

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

and

FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup (FIFA CWC) is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (FIFA), the sport's global sports governing body, governing body. The compe ...

. In winning the 2016 FA Cup, Carrick completed his collection of every domestic honour in the English game. Carrick has represented England at under-18, under-21, B and

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

levels. He made his England debut in 2001 and went on to gain 34 caps without scoring a goal. Carrick was often overlooked during his England career, with many of his contemporaries being preferred in his position. This was the case until the 2012–13 season, when Carrick established himself as a regular. He was a member of the England squad for two major tournaments, the

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

and 2010 World Cups.

Early life

Carrick was born to Vince and Lynn Carrick in

Wallsend Wallsend () is a town in North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne. History Roman Wallsend In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of ...

, Tyne and Wear, and first became involved in football at the age of four. A boyhood fan of

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

, he played

five-a-side football Five-a-side football is a version of minifootball, in which each team fields five players (four Outfield#In association football, outfield players and a goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper). Other differences from association football ...

with Wallsend Boys Club on Saturday nights, courtesy of his father's volunteer work at the club. Aged nine, he had trials with

, Stoke City,

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

, Crystal Palace and Chelsea. At the age of 12 he was selected for North Tyneside Schools. While playing for Wallsend Boys' Club under-16s, he was capped for the England Boys' club side. At age 13, Carrick was profiled by the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

children's programme ''

Live & Kicking ''Live & Kicking'' was a British children's television series that originally aired on BBC1 from 2 October 1993 to 15 September 2001. It was the replacement for '' Going Live!'', and took many of its features from it, such as phone-ins, games, ...

'' episode 49, which aired on 4 February 1995. During his school years, and the years up until his move to

, Carrick actually played as a centre-forward; it was only at West Ham that he started to play more often as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. He studied at Wallsend's Western Middle School and Burnside Community High School, completing his

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of subjects taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. State schools ...

exams in 1997.

Club career

West Ham United

Carrick was part of the West Ham United youth squad that won the FA Youth Cup in the 1998–99 season. He scored twice in their two-legged 9–0 record final victory over Coventry City. According to his manager at the time,

Harry Redknapp Henry James Redknapp (born 2 March 1947) is an English former association football, football manager (association football), manager and player. He has previously managed AFC Bournemouth, West Ham United F.C., West Ham United, Portsmouth F.C., ...

, Carrick's difficulty at the start of his career was mainly physical and he lost almost two seasons to injuries because of his rapid growth. He made his debut for West Ham in a 1–1 away draw with

Jokerit Helsingin Jokerit (, English: Joker (playing card), Jokers or Jesters of Helsinki) is a professional ice hockey team based in Helsinki, Finland, which competes in Mestis. Jokerit plays its home games at the Helsinki Ice Hall and Helsinki Halli in ...

in the

UEFA Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from , "between" and , " betting pool"),Most precisely, from ( football pool); cf. originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition between European clubs. The competition was dis ...

on 24 July 1999. His league debut came five weeks later on 28 August, when he replaced Rio Ferdinand in a 3–0 victory over Bradford City at

Valley Parade Valley Parade, currently known as University of Bradford Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is an all-seater association football, football stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The stadium was built in 1886 as the home of Manningham F.C. ...

. In November 1999, Carrick was sent on a one-month loan to

and made his first appearance for them in a 0–0 draw at home with

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

. He scored his first professional career goal in a 2–1 defeat at home to Charlton Athletic on 23 November. He scored once more during his loan spell, netting in a 1–1 draw at home to

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

on 4 December. Although he impressed during his spell he could not help the team find a much-needed win during his 6 outings, playing his final game for them in a 3–0 defeat at

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

on 18 December. In February 2000, he was sent on loan again, this time to

, making just two appearances for the Blues. Carrick returned to Upton Park and scored his first goal for West Ham United, scoring the first in a 5–0 home win over Coventry City on 22 April. During his first season he was voted as West Ham United's Young Player of the Year. Carrick made his West Ham breakthrough in the 2000–01 season, playing 41 games in all competitions, which included 33 games in the league. His only goal of the season came in a 1–1 home draw against

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

on 9 December 2000. Carrick was awarded a new, improved contract for his progress that would keep him at Upton Park until 2005. On 20 April 2001, he was nominated for the

PFA Young Player of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Young Player of the Year (often called the PFA Young Player of the Year, or simply the Young Player of the Year) is an annual award given to the young player who is adjudged to have been the best of the ...

alongside teammate Joe Cole. The award was eventually won by

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

midfielder

Steven Gerrard Steven George Gerrard MBE (born 30 May 1980) is an English professional football manager and a former player. Widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time and one of Liverpool's greatest ever players,2001–02 season saw Carrick make 32 appearances for the Hammers. Carrick scored twice during this season, his first was West Ham's only goal in a 7–1 loss at Blackburn Rovers on 14 October. He scored the first goal in a 2–1 victory over

rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or Social group, groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each ...

Chelsea ten days later. Towards the end of the season, Carrick suffered a recurrence of a groin injury that ruled him out of the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

for the England squad. The 2002–03 season was one to forget for Carrick, as West Ham were relegated from the

at the end of the campaign, with Carrick playing his last game of the season in a 2–0 victory over Sunderland on 22 March 2003. Rather than leave the club like teammates Joe Cole, Frédéric Kanouté and Jermain Defoe, Carrick stayed with West Ham during their first season back in the First Division. During the 2003–04 season, West Ham finished fourth on the final day to ensure a place in the play-offs. However, they lost 1–0 in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

to Crystal Palace and were denied a return to the top flight. Carrick was included in the

PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's Football in England, En ...

for the First Division.

Tottenham Hotspur

After one season outside the Premier League, Carrick felt compelled to leave the First Division, saying: "the truth is I didn't feel I could play First Division football much longer." He was linked with moves to a number of teams including

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

, Everton,

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

and Crystal Palace before

emerged as front-runners to sign him. On 20 August, a deal was agreed between West Ham and Tottenham for the transfer of Carrick subject to a medical. Four days later, the transfer was official as Carrick joined the club for around £3.5 million after the passing of a medical. He made a goalscoring appearance for the Tottenham reserves, but his first team debut for the club was delayed after suffering an injury setback on 13 September. Carrick was assigned the number 23 shirt and made his Tottenham debut on 18 October as a substitute in a 1–0 defeat at Portsmouth. Despite being fit he was often overlooked by then-manager Jacques Santini. It was unclear as to whether Santini really wanted him at all as there was much media speculation that Carrick was bought by Tottenham's Director of Football Frank Arnesen rather than Santini. However, following the departure of Santini and the appointment of new manager

Martin Jol Maarten Cornelis "Martin" Jol (born 16 January 1956) is a Dutch football manager and former midfielder. He played over 400 games during his career which included spells in the Netherlands, Germany and England, as well as earning three caps wi ...

he soon emerged as a regular starter in midfield. His first full start for Tottenham was also Jol's first game in charge of the club away to

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

in the League Cup on 9 November. During the game he assisted a goal for Robbie Keane as they went on to win 3–0. On 18 December, he produced a display that was influential in helping Tottenham to a 5–1 win at home over

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

. Carrick subsequently ended the 2004–05 season with 29 league appearances but failed to score as they finished the table in 9th and missed out on a

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

spot. On 3 December 2005, Carrick scored his first Tottenham goal as he netted the winner in a 3–2 home win over

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

. He scored his second goal for the club on 8 April 2006 in a 2–1 win at home over Manchester City. On 22 April, Carrick was lauded for his performance, which helped Tottenham to a 1–1 away draw in the

North London derby The North London derby is the meeting of the association football clubs Arsenal F.C., Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur, both of which are based in North London, England. Fans of both clubs consider the other to be their main ...

against

. On 7 May, Carrick was one of 10 Tottenham players who fell ill at a hotel just before their final game of the season away to West Ham as the players suffered from apparent food poisoning. He managed to play in the game but lasted just 63 minutes in the 2–1 defeat to his former club. As a result of the loss rivals Arsenal beat them to fourth place in the league and the spot for the Champions League. He made more crosses and more passes than any other Tottenham player during the 2005–06 season, and along with Mido was joint top in assists.

Manchester United

2006–2009: Title success and European Double

On 10 June, Tottenham revealed they had rejected a bid from

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

for Carrick, who was seen by their manager Sir Alex Ferguson as a replacement for the departed

Roy Keane Roy Maurice Keane (born 10 August 1971) is an Irish football pundit, former coach, and former professional player. He is best known for his career in the Premier League, in particular his captaincy of Manchester United. He is the joint most ...

, the former club

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. The following day, Tottenham manager Martin Jol insisted Carrick would be staying with the club, stating "I don't want to lose a player like Michael, who was probably our best midfielder last season". On 28 July, Tottenham announced that the clubs agreed a deal for the transfer of Carrick to Manchester United. Three days later, the transfer was official as personal terms were agreed with Carrick. Despite agreeing a deal for the player the previous week – the fee was not made public until Spurs issued a statement to the stock exchange. Manchester United's chief executive David Gill confirmed the transfer fee as £14 million, potentially rising to £18.6 million, which would make Carrick the sixth most expensive player acquired by Manchester United at the time. He was given the number 16 shirt, previously worn by Keane. Carrick made his debut for the club on 4 August 2006 in a 3–1 pre-season friendly win over

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

in the

Amsterdam Tournament The Amsterdam Tournament () was a pre-season association football competition, held in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The competition was hosted by Eredivisie club AFC Ajax, Ajax at the Amsterdam Arena. It was inaugurated in 1975 as the Amsterdam 700 T ...

. The following day, Carrick was forced to miss the start of the 2006–07 season as a result of injuring his foot during the final tournament match against

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * Ajax (play), ''Ajax'' (play), by the an ...

. Following his recovery from this injury he made his competitive debut on 23 August in a 3–0 away league win over Charlton Athletic. Three days later, he made his first start for the club in a 2–1 win away over

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

. Towards the end of December he missed two games as he suffered a minor injury. He returned in time to feature in United's final game of 2006, a 3–2 home win over

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

on 30 December. On 13 January 2007, Carrick scored his first Manchester United goal in a 3–1 win at home over

. One month later, he scored his first ever

goal in a 1–1 draw at home to Reading on 17 February. He followed this up by contributing one of United's goals in a 4–1 home win over Blackburn Rovers on 31 March. Carrick scored his first-ever Champions League goals on 10 April, scoring twice in a 7–1 home win over Roma in their quarter-final second leg tie. They would go on to lose their semi-final tie 5–3 on aggregate to eventual champions

A.C. Milan (), commonly referred to as Milan or AC Milan () mainly outside of Italy, is an Italian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Founded in 1899, the club competes in the Serie A, the top tie ...

ending their hopes of an all English

with Liverpool. He scored his final goal of the season in a 2–0 win at home over Sheffield United on 17 April. His first season with Manchester United ended in success, as they won the Premier League title as a result of Chelsea's 1–1 draw with Arsenal on 6 May. Carrick suffered an injury setback in October 2007 after breaking his elbow in a 1–0 home win over Roma in the Champions League group stage. As a result of the injury he would be out of action for up to six weeks. His return to action came on 3 November as a substitute for Anderson in a 2–2 draw at Arsenal. Carrick scored his first goal of the season on 10 February 2008 in the

Manchester derby The Manchester derby refers to association football, football matches between Manchester City F.C., Manchester City and Manchester United F.C., Manchester United, first contested in 1881. City play at the City of Manchester Stadium in Bradford, ...

, his goal came in injury time and was mere consolation in a 2–1 home loss to rivals Manchester City. His second and final goal of the season came against his former club West Ham United in a 4–1 win at home on 3 May. Although he scored just two league goals that season it still led to another league title as United beat

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...

on the final day of the season to prevent Chelsea from reaching the top spot. On 18 April, one week on from their title success Carrick was offered a new five-year contract along with defenders Rio Ferdinand and Wes Brown. A four-year contract was then signed on 17 May 2008, which tied Carrick to United until at least June 2012. He participated in his first-ever Champions League final on 21 May in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, playing the full 120 minutes in a 6–5 penalty shootout win over Chelsea in the 2008 final. The scoreline ended 1–1 after

extra time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is required t ...

, he took United's second penalty of the subsequent shootout, which he converted to help give him the first European honour of his career. During United's first league game of the 2008–09 season at home to Newcastle United, Carrick was substituted after just 25 minutes as a result of an injured ankle in the 1–1 draw. The following day, it was confirmed he would be out for up to three weeks, which ruled him out of the

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup Association football, football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions: the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's offic ...

match against Zenit St. Petersburg on 29 August. His return to action came on 13 September in a 2–1 away loss to

, he was taken off at half-time during after sustaining another injury. Three days later, it was revealed he would be out for up to six weeks after breaking a bone in his foot during a challenge with Yossi Benayoun. On 1 November, Carrick scored his first goal of the season in a 4–3 home win over Hull City. His second goal followed two weeks later in a 5–0 home win over Stoke City. His first goal of 2009 came on 22 April as he scored late on in a 2–0 home win over

. On 13 May, he assisted

Carlos Tevez Carlos Alberto Tevez (; né Martínez; born 5 February 1984) is an Argentine professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player. A dynamic forward (association football), forward in his prime, Tevez ...

and then scored a late winner in a 2–1 win away to Wigan. The goal was Carrick's first for United away from home and meant that they only needed one point from their final two games to gain a third successive Premier League title. Carrick ensured a third title in three years with United as they drew with Arsenal 0–0 at home on 18 May to claim an 18th overall English title. On 27 May, Carrick played the full match in the 2009 Champions League Final in a 2–0 defeat by

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

. This defeat was described by Carrick as worst night of his career as he said "the game just seemed to pass us by and we were unable to do anything about it. I suppose when you look at the big picture, it was still another Champions League final". Michael Carrick cropped

On 30 September, Carrick scored his first goal of the 2009–10 season with the decisive goal against German champions

Wolfsburg Wolfsburg (; Eastphalian language, Eastphalian: ''Wulfsborg'') is the fifth-largest city in the Germany, German state of Lower Saxony, on the river Aller (Germany), Aller east of Hanover and west of Berlin. Wolfsburg is famous as the locat ...

in a 2–1 Champions League win at home. Two months later, he scored his first league goal of the

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

, scoring the second of a 3–0 home win over Everton. Due to a defensive crisis during December, Carrick had to fill in at centre-back since

Gary Neville Gary Alexander Neville (born 18 February 1975) is an English football pundit, former coach and player, and co-owner of English Football League club Salford City. As a player, Neville was a right-back and spent his entire career with Manches ...

, himself being played out of position, picked up an injury against West Ham United in a 4–0 away win. Carrick had never previously played in defence during his career but manager Sir Alex Ferguson was very pleased with his contribution. On 8 December, he played in defence again by playing in a three-man defence alongside central-midfielder

Darren Fletcher Darren Barr Fletcher (born 1 February 1984) is a Scottish football coach and former professional player who is currently serving as a first-team coach at Manchester United, where he spent the majority of his playing career and won 13 trophies i ...

and regular left-back Patrice Evra in a 3–1 away win against Wolfsburg in the Champions League. His third goal of the season came on 30 December in a 5–0 home league win over Wigan Athletic in what was United's last game of the decade.

2010–2013: Continued success

On 25 January 2010, Carrick scored the first-ever League Cup goal of his career in a 4–3 aggregate win over rivals Manchester City in the second leg of their semi-final tie. On 6 February, Carrick scored in a 5–0 home win over Portsmouth but it was credited as a Richard Hughes own goal following the game. However, the Dubious Goals Panel officially awarded Carrick the goal on 25 May following a review. On 16 February 2010, he was sent off for the first time in his career after seeing two yellow cards in United's 3–2 win over A.C. Milan at the

San Siro San Siro is a football stadium in the San Siro district of Milan, Italy. It has a seating capacity of 75,817, making it the largest stadium in Italy and one of the largest stadiums in Europe. It is the home stadium of the city's principal ...

. The midfielder was shown a second yellow card in injury-time after flicking the ball away following Patrice Evra's foul on

Alexandre Pato Alexandre Rodrigues da Silva (; born 2 September 1989), commonly known as Alexandre Pato () or just Pato, is a Brazilian former professional association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. Pato began ...

. Carrick played the entire game of the 2010 League Cup Final against Aston Villa, which United won 2–1 resulting in his first League Cup medal. This was the first season of his United career that would end without winning the league title as Chelsea claimed the crown by a single point on the final day of the season. On 6 August 2010, it was announced that Carrick would miss the start of the 2010–11 season as a result of an ankle injury sustained in United's final pre-season game against a League of Ireland XI. However, two days later, he played 79 minutes of United's 3–1 victory over Chelsea in the 2010 Community Shield. Manager Sir Alex Ferguson claimed, "He came in yesterday, says he was fit, wanted to train, trained, and wanted to play." On 3 March 2011, he signed a new three-year deal keeping him at the club until the end of the 2013–14 season. Carrick's first significant display of the season came in a 1–0 away win over Chelsea in the Champions League on 6 April. He played a vital pass in the move that led to

's goal and was praised for his performance. However a few days later in the FA Cup semi-final against

Carrick gave the ball away which led to the only goal of the game scored by

Yaya Touré Gnégnéri Yaya Touré (born 13 May 1983) is an Ivorian professional football coach and former player who played as a midfielder. He is currently an assistant coach for the Saudi Arabia national team. Touré aspired to be a striker during h ...

. At the start of the 2011–12 season, Carrick for the second season in a row was a shock starter at

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in the London Borou ...

for the 2011 FA Community Shield. After initially being ruled out through injury by Alex Ferguson in the pre-match build-up, Carrick was named in the starting 11 for the game on 7 August 2011. In the first half, United fell behind to a Joleon Lescott header and a long range Edin Džeko strike to trail 2–0 at half time. Carrick was then substituted at the interval and replaced by youngster Tom Cleverley. However United went on to turn the game around and prevail 3–2 winners. The day after the Shield match, Carrick pulled out of England's friendly match against the Netherlands to rest a niggling injury. He was replaced in the squad by Tom Cleverley. On 18 December, Carrick scored his first goal for United for 70 games when he advanced from his own half of the pitch after cutting out Joey Barton's square ball, past a couple of defenders and firing low past the keeper. He eventually won the Man of the Match award. On 4 January 2012, Carrick played his 250th match for Manchester United in all competitions in a 3–0 away defeat to Newcastle United. He celebrated his Jubilee in a 3–2 away victory against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium in the

third round. On 14 January 2012, Carrick scored for United in a 3–0 home win against

Bolton Bolton ( , locally ) is a town in Greater Manchester in England. In the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is between Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several towns and vill ...

. In the 83rd minute, Carrick notched his first goal at

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

since January 2010. He curled a left-footed effort past Ádám Bogdán into the bottom corner. On 16 February 2012, in a Europa League 2–0 away win against

at the

Amsterdam Arena The Johan Cruyff Arena ( ; officially stylised as Johan Cruijff ArenA) is the main stadium of the Dutch capital city of Amsterdam and the home stadium of association football, football club AFC Ajax, Ajax since its opening. Built from 1993 to ...

, Carrick played his 500th match in all competitions. Carrick also showed his class when he thundered a shot from 30 yards against the post in a 2–0 win against QPR on 8 April. As a result of a defensive injury crisis at the club, Carrick started the 2012–13 season as a makeshift centre-back. His inexperience in the role was exploited by Everton in the season opener, as Marouane Fellaini beat him to a corner kick to score the only goal of the game. He continued in the role for the next match against

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

. He scored his first goal of the season in a 1–0 Champions League victory against Galatasaray, after series of ball movement leading to Michael Carrick rounding the goalkeeper to score with his left foot. On 24 November 2012, Carrick was left out the squad that defeated QPR 3–1, ending his run of 33 consecutive league starts. April 2013 saw Carrick nominated for the PFA Player of the Year Award for his performances during the season with Manchester United. Arsenal manager

Arsène Wenger Arsène Charles Ernest Wenger (born 22 October 1949) is a French former association football, football Manager (association football), manager and football player, player who is currently serving as FIFA's Chief of Global Football Development. ...

said Carrick would be his personal choice for the award, "He is a quality passer. He could play for Barcelona, he would be perfectly suited to their game. He has a good vision and is an intelligent player." Tottenham winger

Gareth Bale Gareth Frank Bale (born 16 July 1989) is a Welsh former professional Association football, footballer who played as a right winger, most notably for Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur, Real Madrid CF, Real Madrid, and the Wales national ...

was ultimately voted as the winner; Carrick was, however, included in the PFA Team of the Year for the 2012–13 season. Carrick went on to be announced as Manchester United's Players' Player of the Year for the 2012–13 season. On 22 November 2013, Manchester United announced that Carrick had signed a contract extension until 2015, with the option to extend for a further year. In the 2013–14 season, Carrick struggled to retain his previous season's form, as Manchester United struggled generally under new manager David Moyes. His season was not helped by a persistent achilles problem that kept him out from November until December, whilst new signings in midfield such as Marouane Fellaini had failed to perform.

2014–2018: Final years

In February 2014, Carrick was criticized by former club captain Roy Keane for what Keane thought was a poor interview. Although he made a total of 42 appearances in all competitions that season, there was speculation over whether Carrick had a future at Manchester United. In July, Carrick suffered an injury during a pre-season training session that was expected to keep him out for 12 weeks. Carrick's first game back from injury came at the 1–0 defeat against Manchester City on 2 November 2014, where he came on as a replacement centre-back following

Chris Smalling Christopher Lloyd Smalling (born 22 November 1989) is an English professional Association football, footballer who plays as a centre-back for Saudi Pro League club Al-Fayha FC, Al-Fayha. Smalling represented the England national football team, ...

's dismissal. After

Marcos Rojo Faustino Marcos Alberto Rojo (born 20 March 1990) is an Argentine professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Defender (association football), defender for Boca Juniors, where he is Captain (association football), captain. Rojo ...

suffered a dislocated shoulder in the same match, Carrick stated that he would be happy to play as a makeshift centre-back. After Carrick returned to the starting line-up on a regular basis, ''

Match of the Day 2 ''Match of the Day 2'' is a Premier League football highlights programme. It is a companion show to ''Match of the Day'', usually broadcast on BBC One on Sunday evenings, thus facilitating coverage of the respective week's PL matches that were p ...

'' pundit Dietmar Hamann attributed some of Manchester United's improved form to Carrick's return in December, after the club had won all of the six games that he had started. Alex Ferguson stated that he thought Carrick was the best English player in an interview with

BT Sport TNT Sports (formerly BT Sport) is a group of pay television sports channels in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Now owned by Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe, Warner Bros. Discovery and BT Group, they first launched as B ...

in December 2014, shortly after Carrick had been named as Manchester United's new vice-captain by

. On 15 March 2015, he provided an assist for Marouane Fellaini's goal, and scored his first goal in more than a year during a 3–0 victory against his former club

. Five days later, Carrick signed a new one-year extension to his contract, lengthening his Manchester United career to 10 seasons. Carrick made his 400th Manchester United appearance on 2 January 2016 in the 2–1 home win over Swansea City, coming on as a stoppage-time substitute. On 21 May, he played the full 120 minutes in United's FA Cup win as United beat Crystal Palace 2–1 after extra time. This victory completed his collection of every domestic honour in the English game. He signed a new one-year contract extension on 9 June 2016. Carrick scored his first goal of the 2016–17 season on 21 September with United's first in a 3–1 away victory over

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the c ...

in the third round of the

EFL Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

. Carrick became a key member of

's team and his performances were highly recognised for his ability to control play, instil calmness and pass accurately. Mourinho also claimed that he wished Carrick was 10 years younger. In May 2017, Carrick extended his contract until June 2018. Eleven years of service to the club resulted in Carrick being granted a testimonial at the end of the 2016–17 season. Played at Old Trafford on 4 June 2017, the match was contested by a team representing Manchester United's 2008 Champions League-winning side and a team of all-stars selected by Carrick himself, managed by Sir Alex Ferguson and

respectively. The match ended in a 2–2 draw with Carrick scoring from a 25-yard strike. The money raised from the game was distributed to Carrick's chosen charities. Following the departure of club captain Wayne Rooney from Manchester United in July 2017, Carrick was appointed as Rooney's replacement. In November 2017, Carrick announced that he had undergone a procedure for an irregular heart rhythm after suffering dizziness during a match and in training. The medical treatment was successful and he returned to United's first-team squad as club captain. In January 2018, Carrick accepted an offer to join the club's first-team coaching staff after his retirement at the end of the 2017–18 season. He made his 464th and final appearance as a player for Manchester United in the last match of the league season against Watford at Old Trafford on 13 May, in which he helped create

Marcus Rashford Marcus Rashford (born 31 October 1997) is an English professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for Premier League club Aston Villa F.C., Aston Villa, on Loan (association football), lo ...

's game-winning goal as his side won 1–0. Carrick was substituted towards the end of the match to allow the fans to give him a standing ovation.

International career

Carrick was capped by the England national under-18 and under-21 teams before receiving his first call-up to the senior team in

Sven-Göran Eriksson Sven-Göran Eriksson (; 5 February 1948 – 26 August 2024) was a Swedish association football, football player and Coach (sport), manager. After a playing career as a right-back, Eriksson went on to experience major success in club management ...

's first game in charge of England in February 2001. Despite being named in the 31-man squad to face

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, he was an unused substitute in England's 3–0 victory on 28 February. Three months later he made his England debut, replacing

David Beckham Sir David Robert Joseph Beckham ( ; born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Primarily a right winger and known for his range of passing, cross ...

as a second-half substitute in a 4–0 friendly win over

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. His full debut came during their 2–1 victory over the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

on 28 May 2005. Three days later Carrick started again in a 3–2 victory over

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

in the final game of their tour of the US. On 8 May 2006, Eriksson named Carrick in a 23-man provisional squad for the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to FIFA World Cup hosts ...

, eventually being named in the final 23-man squad for the tournament in Germany. He was an unused substitute for all three of England's

Group B Group B was a set of regulations for Grand tourer, grand touring (GT) cars used in sports car racing and rallying introduced in 1982 by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Although permitted to enter a GT class of the World S ...

games as they advanced to the

knockout stage A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

. Carrick played just one game in the tournament, a 1–0 victory in the second round match against

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

on 25 June. The next game he was dropped to the bench for the quarter-final tie against

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, with

Owen Hargreaves Owen Lee Hargreaves (born 20 January 1981) is a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He was known as a hard-working and "solid defensive midfielder who worked tirelessly to win the ball" and provide his teammates with posses ...

replacing him. The game ended goalless after extra time, Portugal won 3–1 in the subsequent penalty shootout and knocked England out of the World Cup. Spain vs England

Carrick had been regularly overlooked by various England managers when it came to the central roles, with

Frank Lampard Frank James Lampard (born 20 June 1978) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the manager of English club Coventry City. Widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time, one of Chelsea's greates ...

and Steven Gerrard generally being preferred. He started nine games under Sven-Göran Eriksson and his successor Steve McClaren. His last appearance under McClaren was in a 2–1 defeat at home to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

in August 2007. Newly appointed manager

Fabio Capello Fabio Capello (; born 18 June 1946) is an Italian former professional association football, football manager (association football), manager and player. As a player, Capello represented SPAL, AS Roma, Roma, AC Milan and Juventus FC, Juventus. H ...

left Carrick out of his first England squad on 2 February 2008. During Capello's first year in charge of England Carrick was largely overlooked. However, he was named in Capello's squad for the game against the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

, but was forced to withdraw after sustaining an injury during Manchester United's game with Newcastle United. In November 2008, he returned to the squad for a friendly against Germany in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. Starting alongside Gareth Barry in central midfield in England's 2–1 victory, he was named as

Man of the Match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...

by the

. Despite playing just one game during England's

2010 World Cup qualification 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

campaign, he was named in Capello's 30-man preliminary squad for the 2010 World Cup on 11 May 2010. He played 61 minutes of their 3–1 warm-up friendly win over

before being replaced by Tom Huddlestone. On 2 June, Carrick was then named in the final 23-man squad to fly to South Africa for the tournament, before being given the squad number 22. During the World Cup Carrick failed to make it onto the pitch, remaining an unused member of the squad. England were eventually knocked out of the tournament as they lost 4–1 to Germany in their second round tie on 27 June. On 6 August, Alex Ferguson claimed Carrick would be out for two weeks with an ankle injury and would miss England's friendly against

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

the following Wednesday. Capello left Carrick out of the subsequent England squad only to arrive at

and see him play 79 minutes of the Community Shield match. Capello made a 'call me' sign as Carrick walked past his seat to collect the winner's medal. In May 2012, England manager Roy Hodgson said he left Carrick out of the 23-man squad and the standby list for

UEFA Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th UEFA European Championship, European Championship for List of men's national association football teams#UEFA (Europe), men's ...

because he had previously told

The Football Association The Football Association (the FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest footb ...

that he did not want to be a bit-part player, although he could help the team "in extremis". On 10 August, Carrick was recalled to the England squad by Hodgson for a friendly match against

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

on 15 August. He played the full 90 minutes in the 2–1 victory over the ''Azzurri'' in Switzerland and also took over the

's armband from Frank Lampard for the final 20 minutes. On 7 September 2012, Carrick came on a half-time substitute in England's 5–0 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier against

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

. He then started against

San Marino San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino, is a landlocked country in Southern Europe, completely surrounded by Italy. Located on the northeastern slopes of the Apennine Mountains, it is the larger of two European microstates, microsta ...

in another 5–0 win the following month. On 17 October 2012, Carrick partnered Steven Gerrard in central midfield in the away qualifier against

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. On 26 March 2013, the partnership was renewed in England's qualifier against

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

Podgorica Podgorica ( cnr-Cyrl, Подгорица; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Montenegro, largest city of Montenegro. The city is just north of Lake Skadar and close to coastal destinations on the Adriatic Sea. Histor ...

. On 15 October 2013, Carrick started in England's final qualifier, a 2–0 home win against Poland, as the team qualified for the

2014 World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

. In May 2014, Carrick was named on England's standby list for the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil fr ...

after being omitted from the main 23-man squad travelling to Brazil. Having not appeared since 2013, Carrick was named in the squad for the November 2014 matches with

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

and

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. However, on 12 November, he pulled out of the squad after sustaining a groin injury. On 27 March 2015, Carrick made his first appearance for England in 17 months, starting the 4–0 UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying defeat of

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

at Wembley Stadium. On 31 March 2015, Carrick made his 33rd appearance for the national team as a substitute for Manchester United teammate and defender

, performing impressively to help England earn a draw against Italy in an international friendly match. On 14 November 2015, Carrick suffered an ankle injury during a match against

and left the pitch on a stretcher. England went on to lose the game 2–0.

Coaching career

Manchester United

Carrick remained at Manchester United after retirement, having been handed a position on José Mourinho's coaching staff, alongside fellow new appointee

Kieran McKenna Kieran McKenna (born 14 May 1986) is a professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player who is the manager of club Ipswich Town F.C., Ipswich Town. Born in England, McKenna was raised in Nor ...

; both were filling the void left by former assistant manager Rui Faria, who opted to begin his own spell in management. Mourinho was sacked by United on 18 December 2018, following an indifferent first half of the season, resulting in Carrick briefly being named acting caretaker manager, prior to the appointment of another former United player Ole Gunnar Solskjær into that position for the rest of the season. Solskjær retained Carrick as part of his coaching staff, with Solskjær and his coaching staff being appointed on a permanent basis in March 2019. On 21 November 2021, after Ole Gunnar Solskjær left his role as

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

, Carrick was named

caretaker manager In association footballing terms, a caretaker manager or interim manager is somebody who takes temporary charge of the management of a football team, usually when the regular manager is dismissed or leaves for a different club. However, a caret ...

. Carrick's first match in charge was an

tie away at Villarreal, which United won thanks to late goals from

Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Saudi Pr ...

and a first United goal for Jadon Sancho, sealing United's place in the last-16 of the competition. Following a 3–2 victory against

on 2 December, Carrick stepped down as first team coach and left Manchester United with immediate effect, shortly after the appointment of

Ralf Rangnick Ralf Dietrich Rangnick (; born 29 June 1958) is a German professional football coach, executive, and former player who is currently the manager of the Austria national team. Rangnick began his coaching career in 1983, succeeding his career as a ...

as interim manager, who would go on to remain in the role for the rest of the season. During his three match reign as caretaker manager, he recorded two wins and one draw, with United also having drawn with Chelsea in his first Premier League game.

Middlesbrough

On 24 October 2022, Carrick was appointed head coach of

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

club

. Middlesbrough were 21st in the Championship at the time of his appointment, with 17 points from 16 games played, one point above the relegation zone. Despite taking the lead, Middlesbrough lost Carrick's first game in charge 2–1 away to Preston North End on 29 October. Carrick would win 16 of his first 23 Middlesbrough games as the club began to climb the table. On 7 December 2022, Carrick was nominated for the EFL Championship Manager of the Month award for November after his first calendar month in charge. Ten points from four matches, scoring thirteen goals along the way, saw him win the award for March 2023. After guiding his side to a 4th-place finish, Middlesbrough lost in the

play-off The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eith ...

semi-finals to Coventry City. In his second season with Boro, Carrick guided Middlesbrough to the semi-finals of the

for the first time since 2004. Middlesbrough won the first leg 1–0 at home against Chelsea. However, they lost 6–1 in the second leg. Middlesbrough ended their 2023–24 campaign in 8th position. On 3 June 2024, Carrick signed a new three-year contract. On 4 June 2025, Carrick was sacked by Middlesbrough following a tenth-placed finish.

Style of play

Despite playing as a deep-lying midfielder, Carrick did not rely on pace, stamina, physical attributes, box-to-box play and tackling like a typical ball-winning midfielder; instead, his intelligence and composure on reading of the game helped him to anticipate any attacking threats from the opposition team, most of the time by covering space and making interceptions. His distribution of the ball, vision, creativity, playmaking skills, crossing ability, and range of passing, among the best in comparison to other midfielders in Europe, was allied to an ability to dictate the tempo of the game, as well as initiate team attacks. After his arrival at Manchester United in 2006, Carrick formed an effective partnership with Paul Scholes, with Carrick playing in a holding role and Scholes alongside him as a deep-seated playmaker. This midfield partnership contributed to a change towards a continental playing style embraced by manager

and assistant Carlos Queiroz, which relied on passing and keeping possession in contrast to the more traditionally direct and all-action style of English football. His unassuming style, however, also led to a lack of attention from successive England national team managers in favour of all-action midfielders such as

and

Steven Gerrard Steven George Gerrard MBE (born 30 May 1980) is an English professional football manager and a former player. Widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time and one of Liverpool's greatest ever players,Wayne Rooney Wayne Mark Rooney (born 24 October 1985) is an English professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Association football, player who was most recently the head coach of EFL Championship club Plymouth Argyle F.C., Pl ...

. Carrick's intelligence and awareness were highlighted by former Manchester United manager

, who labelled him his "trainer coach during the game". Furthermore, his importance to the team performance was constantly praised by former teammates

and Paul Scholes, as well as European peers

Xavi Xavi () is a Catalan given name, usually used as a nickname for Xavier. Notable people with the name include: Football * Xavi Hernández (born 1980), Spanish football manager and former player * Xavi Andorrà (born 1985), Andorran footballe ...

and

Xabi Alonso Xabier Alonso Olano (, ; born 25 November 1981) is a Spanish professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who is the head coach of La Liga club Real Madrid CF, Real Madrid. He is regarded as o ...

. In 2015, ''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are often names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * The Telegraph (Adelaide), ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaid ...

'' included him at number one in their list of "The top 20 most under-rated footballers of all time", describing him as an "unassuming but highly intelligent and technically gifted deep-lying midfielder", who "has consistently performed well".

Personal life

Carrick married Lisa Roughead, a

Pilates Pilates (; ) is a type of mind-body exercise developed in the early 20th century by German physical trainer Joseph Pilates, after whom it was named. Pilates called his method "Contrology". Pilates uses a combination of around 50 repetitive e ...

instructor with a business degree, in Wymondham, Leicestershire on 16 June 2007. The couple started dating when they were both at school, and have a daughter, Louise, and a son, Jacey. In October 2018, Carrick announced that he had suffered from depression for two years following the defeat in the 2009 UEFA Champions League Final. Carrick has one brother, Graeme, who is four years younger. He was also at West Ham United but suffered several injuries, and has completed an MSc in Sport Coaching is currently an FA Regional Coach Mentor (North East & Yorkshire) after 7 years as an FA Skills Coach and a spell Coaching at Team Northumbria, after previously working at the Newcastle United Academy coaching the under-10s and under-16s.

Career statistics

Club

:Source:

International

:Source:

Managerial statistics

Honours

As a player

West Ham United U18 * FA Youth Cup: 1998–99 West Ham United *

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

Manchester United *

: 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2012–13 *

: 2015–16 * Football League/EFL Cup: 2008–09, 2009–10, 2016–17 *

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

: 2007–08 *

: 2016–17 *

Individual *

: 2003–04 First Division, 2012–13 Premier League * Manchester United Players' Player of the Year: 2012–13

As a manager

Individual * EFL Championship Manager of the Month: March 2023

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Carrick, Michael 1981 births Living people Footballers from Wallsend Footballers from Newcastle upon Tyne English men's footballers England men's youth international footballers England men's under-21 international footballers England men's B international footballers England men's international footballers Men's association football midfielders Wallsend Boys Club players West Ham United F.C. players Swindon Town F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players Manchester United F.C. players Premier League players English Football League players UEFA Champions League–winning players UEFA Europa League–winning players 2006 FIFA World Cup players 2010 FIFA World Cup players English football managers Manchester United F.C. managers Middlesbrough F.C. managers Premier League managers English Football League managers English football coaches Manchester United F.C. non-playing staff English autobiographers 21st-century English sportsmen