Michael Carrick has said the Manchester City financial case “affected me personally in different ways over a period of time” and that he still carries his own unanswered questions about how it will be resolved.
The Manchester United boss was speaking after an independent commission found City guilty of all charges relating to breaches of the Premier League’s financial regulations between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons. Manchester City have appealed against that decision, with the appeal expected to conclude by Christmas Day if it adheres to strict Premier League guidelines and a verdict to follow in the early part of 2027. City boss Enzo Maresca has said he “trusts” his own club.
There is a clamour among some for City to be stripped of their silverware and relegated, but Carrick’s perspective is shaped by having been close to the titles United lost to them. The 45-year-old was on the pitch at Sunderland in 2012 when he learned City had won their first Premier League title through Sergio Aguero’s injury-time winner. He was still part of Jose Mourinho’s squad when United finished runners-up to Pep Guardiola’s City in 2018, and was on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s coaching staff when it happened again in 2020-21.
Carrick made clear that a title winners’ medal awarded years after the event would not compensate for missing out at the time. “In football, the strive to win, the emotion and the feeling about winning, a lot of it is in the moment,” he said. “You can’t take that back. It’s the moment you strive for. That’s essentially what we’re all in it for. That’s the feeling we all crave.”
He added: “The beauty of trying to win trophies is a little bit the journey towards it and then the finale. Does it go for you, does it go against you? Once that’s done, there’s no getting that back in any direction. I’m not getting blasé about it, but regardless of anything, in any sport in history, if later on you get the medal, it doesn’t bring the feeling of when you initially win or you don’t.”
On whether titles should be reassigned, Carrick said he would wait until the process reaches a conclusion, while stressing the need for urgency. “It’s thrown up a lot of questions,” he said. “Some had answers, some haven’t. Certainly, I’ve got my own questions about it. It’s affected me personally in different ways over a period of time. As it’s still not finalised, I think I’ll hold that one until later on. What I will say is that the sooner it gets sorted, for everyone’s benefit, is essential. It’s unprecedented, a unique situation to be in at this level, with such a huge impact in so many ways. We all need to know what’s going to happen.”
Meanwhile, United’s supporters have delivered their own response, rehanging a ‘ticker’ banner from the Stretford End showing the years since Manchester City last won a trophy. The banner was first displayed in 2000, when it counted 24 years since City’s last silverware, the 1976 League Cup, and was increased by one each year until 2011, when City ended their trophy drought by beating Stoke City in the FA Cup final. A new version will be on show for this weekend’s visit of Tottenham to Old Trafford, carrying the number 50 to signal the years since that 1976 League Cup triumph, the club’s final silverware before Sheikh Mansour bought the club.