Manchester United manager Michael Carrick has said he still has unanswered questions about Manchester City’s Premier League financial case, which he believes affected him personally during his playing and coaching career.
Carrick, 45, said the controversy had raised questions that remained unresolved, adding that the outcome could have implications for several clubs and their supporters. Manchester City were found guilty of multiple breaches of Premier League financial regulations by an independent commission. The club has appealed against the decision.
The case concerns alleged breaches between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons, a period during which City won several major trophies and established themselves among England’s dominant clubs.
Carrick experienced the consequences of City’s success during his time at Manchester United. He was on the pitch at Sunderland in 2012 when Sergio Aguero scored his famous stoppage-time winner to secure City’s first Premier League title. He was also part of Jose Mourinho’s United squad when they finished behind Pep Guardiola’s City in 2017-18 and served on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s coaching staff when United finished runners-up again in 2020-21.
The former midfielder said receiving a winners’ medal years after the event would not compensate for missing out on a title when it mattered.
“In football, the strive to win, the emotion and the feeling about winning, a lot of it is in the moment,” Carrick 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 that the journey towards winning a trophy and the emotions surrounding the final result could not be recreated years later.
“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,” he said.
Carrick declined to speculate on whether Premier League titles should be reassigned if the appeal does not go City’s way. However, he called for the process to be concluded quickly, saying the uncertainty had affected him personally.
“Certainly, I’ve got my own questions about it. It’s affected me personally in different ways over a period of time,” he said.
“As it’s still not finalised, I think I’ll hold that one (whether titles should be reassigned) until later on.”
Carrick described the proceedings as unprecedented because of their potential impact on English football and urged those involved to reach a resolution.
“What I will say is that the sooner it gets sorted, for everyone’s benefit, is essential,” he said.
“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, Manchester United supporters have revived a banner highlighting the years since City’s last major trophy before the club’s takeover by Sheikh Mansour. The original banner appeared at Old Trafford in 2000, when City had gone 24 years without silverware following their 1976 League Cup triumph.
Fans updated the figure annually until City ended the drought by beating Stoke City in the 2011 FA Cup final. A new version displaying the number 50 has since been prepared for Tottenham’s visit to Old Trafford, marking half a century since City’s 1976 League Cup victory.
