📅 November 12, 2026
Manchester United Sack Michael Carrick as Pochettino Waits in the Wings
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Manchester United have sacked Michael Carrick. The club confirmed on Thursday morning that he’s left his role as men’s first-team head coach, saying it had come to “the extremely difficult conclusion that a change is necessary in order to achieve our ambitions.”
The statement went out at 10:33 GMT (5:33 AM Eastern). It doesn’t name a successor. It says the club intends to appoint a permanent one “as quickly as possible.”
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What the club said
The statement opens with what he did last season, not this one. Carrick rejoined in January and won 12 of the remaining 17 games, finishing third, and the club says no side in the league took more points over that run.
Then it turns. “After a disappointing start to the season,” the club says, a change was needed. It calls him “a Manchester United legend” and says his “leadership and achievements last season will always be fondly remembered.” That’s the whole of it. There’s no quote from Carrick and nothing on who takes the squad in the meantime.
How it was decided
This is the outcome of the Monaco meeting we covered on Wednesday. Sky Sports says chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox recommended the change, and Sir Jim Ratcliffe ratified it there.
Sky also says Carrick took training on Wednesday and was at Carrington again on Thursday morning, hours before the announcement. dpa’s report, carried by Yahoo Sports, has him taking sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday too. Sky reports that his coaches Jonny Evans and Jonathan Woodgate are expected to leave as well, though the club hasn’t said so.
The league position made it hard to argue with. United have won one of their first ten league games and sit in the relegation zone, and Sunday’s 4-4 draw with Aston Villa was his last match. You can read our report on that game.
Pochettino
The club hasn’t named anyone. Sky Sports reports that United have a verbal agreement with Mauricio Pochettino, and the Press Association understands he’s been lined up to replace Carrick, according to dpa. Goal also reports a verbal agreement in principle, though it doesn’t say where that comes from.
He’s still the USA head coach. Sky says he’ll stay with the national team for its Nations League games against Haiti during this international break before he starts at United. The outlets put different figures on his release clause and different dates on when he’d arrive, so we’re leaving both out.
United’s next game is at Liverpool on Sunday 22 November, as Sky and dpa both note. Whoever’s in charge will have very little time with the squad before Anfield.
Our view
It’s the right call, and the club made it in the right way in the end: one decision, said plainly, and the credit Carrick earned last spring written into the first paragraph. He took over a mess in January and got United into the Champions League. That shouldn’t get lost because of ten bad league games.
But ten league games with one win is relegation form, and the club couldn’t keep waiting on it. If Pochettino is the man, United need it signed before the squad comes back from international duty. We’ll post again when the club confirms who’s next.
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Sources: Manchester United club statement (12 Nov 2026, 10:33 GMT) for the departure, every quote from the club, the 12-of-17 run, third place, the points claim and the plan to appoint a permanent successor. Sky Sports (12 Nov, 12:01 UK) for the Berrada and Wilcox recommendation, Ratcliffe’s ratification in Monaco, Carrick at Carrington on Wednesday and Thursday, Evans and Woodgate, the verbal agreement with Pochettino, the Haiti games, one league win from ten, the relegation zone, the Villa draw and Liverpool on 22 November. dpa via Yahoo Sports (12 Nov, 11:33 UTC) for the sacking, the Press Association line on Pochettino, Carrick’s Tuesday and Wednesday sessions, the relegation zone, the Villa draw and the Liverpool date. Goal (12 Nov) for the verbal agreement in principle and Fabrizio Romano reporting the sacking before the club announced it. Left out: Pochettino’s release clause (Sky and Goal give different figures), his start date (Sky and Goal differ), Carrick’s start date in January (only Goal gives a day), his record in all competitions this season and United’s points total (one source each), and who takes training before a new coach arrives (not reported).