Manchester United have sacked head coach Michael Carrick, with the club calling the decision "extremely difficult" and praising the 45-year-old for his "highest standards of dedication and professionalism". Carrick becomes the first managerial casualty of the Premier League season, and his departure came just six months after he was handed a two-year contract when he was hired on a full-time basis.

Carrick was initially appointed on an interim basis in January to succeed Ruben Amorim, who left United in sixth place. He won his first two games against Manchester City and Arsenal and guided the club to a third-placed Premier League finish, winning 12 of the remaining 17 games of the 2025/26 season, and he secured Champions League qualification with three games to spare. Club sources had pointed to the squad's quality, with INEOS believing the playing group was far better than its results suggested.S1S2

The pressure built after a poor start to the season. United lost 4-1 to Como in the Champions League and then 3-0 to Bournemouth, and Carrick survived heavy defeats to Como and Bournemouth two weeks before the decision, being given three games to prove himself. United were beaten 2-0 at Stamford Bridge, and although they beat Roma 3-2 and drew 4-4 with Aston Villa, the board felt it had not seen enough. One win from 10 Premier League games was viewed internally as "not acceptable", and the club acted during the international break.S1S2

The timing drew criticism because the process was dragged out while talks advanced to appoint Mauricio Pochettino. United believe they followed "due process", but the optics of the handling were poor, as Carrick continued to take training during the week. The club said it intends to appoint a permanent successor as quickly as possible, and it marks the fourth permanent head coach since INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe took control of the day-to-day running of the club in February 2024.S1S2