Monaco meeting to determine Michael Carrick's Manchester United future
Michael Carrick's future as Manchester United head coach will be decided 800 miles from Old Trafford in Monaco on Wednesday at a meeting involving minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox. Berrada and Wilcox are flying out for a regular pre-planned strategic catch-up at which Carrick's position is the primary item for discussion.
Ratcliffe acquired a 28.94% minority stake in Manchester United for just over £1bn less than three years ago and set out his ambitions on Christmas Eve 2023: "Our shared ambition is clear: we all want to see Manchester United back where we belong, at the very top of English, European and world football." United sit 18th in the Premier League, in the relegation zone after winning just one of their first 10 games and none since August, their worst start at this point in a top-flight season since 1986-87 when they were 20th.
Ratcliffe's home and Ineos offices are in Monaco and the meeting was already in the diary as a regular executive catch-up; sources say the location choice was not driven by the Carrick debate. Those sources add Berrada and Wilcox prefer to tell Carrick any decision face to face, and the Monaco gatherings used to be held every six weeks but are now less frequent; when attended, they typically run in the morning for three to four hours and finish in time for Ratcliffe's lunchtime jog.
Previous managerial exits were not decided at these Monaco meetings: Ruben Amorim was dismissed 19 hours after an explosive media conference following a 1-1 draw at Leeds in January, while Erik ten Hag left a day after a defeat at West Ham that left United with just three wins from their opening nine matches. A summer 2024 Ineos meeting recommended Ten Hag's sacking but that was reversed after the FA Cup final win over Manchester City; a later six-hour meeting at Ineos HQ in London left him in place only for him to depart three weeks afterwards. Amorim was summoned to Monaco following the 2025 Europa League final defeat to Tottenham.
Carrick won 12 of 17 games as interim manager and was given a two-year contract in the summer, but form since has been poor: United lost 3-0 at home to Bournemouth on 25 October, drew 3-2 with Roma on 3 November after coming from two goals down, lost 2-0 to Chelsea following a Lisandro Martinez red card, and conceded twice inside five minutes against Aston Villa before twice coming from two goals down to salvage a point. Club sources said they wanted to give Carrick time after the Bournemouth defeat and felt the two-week international break in November offered a better chance to assess the campaign, but Berrada and Wilcox, who attended the Roma, Chelsea and Villa matches, concluded a change of coach is required.
Defensively United have conceded 30 goals in 15 games this season: 19 in 10 Premier League matches, eight in four Champions League fixtures and three in their one Carabao Cup tie. One alternative under consideration is adding coaching support rather than replacing the head coach; Bayern Munich coach Aaron Danks, who worked with Carrick at Middlesbrough and was linked with the role in the summer, is among the names mentioned.
The wider governance picture could affect any outcome. If Ratcliffe were to back Carrick over the advice of Berrada and Wilcox, sources say it would create serious questions about how those executives could continue to work with him, though they add Ratcliffe still retains faith in them. United confirmed at the time of Ratcliffe's purchase that the club's board had handed over responsibility for the football side, but the articles of association state delegated responsibilities can be "revoked or altered"; of the 12 current directors, six are members of the Glazer family, including co-chairs Joel and Avi Glazer, and the chairman of any meeting has a second and casting vote. There have been media reports of Glazer dissatisfaction but no public statement.
Most United players and a substantial number of academy players are on international duty, but a core group remains at Carrington including Mason Mount, Joshua Zirkzee and Matthijs de Ligt, with Harry Maguire present despite suffering a back spasm against Villa and injured players such as Luke Shaw and Marcus Rashford also at the club. Carrick gave the squad a day off on Monday and scheduled training for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday; "Obviously some of the boys will be flying off around the world and different things, and the group will be split for 10 days or so, but as a normal international week is, we'll have some training and we'll have one or two days off," he said. "Not too much. But we'll train and get ready for the next game." Players are not due to report back until 17 November.
Mauricio Pochettino has emerged as a leading candidate to replace Carrick and, having been appointed USA boss in September 2024, renewed his contract in August and faces a two-legged Concacaf Nations League quarter-final against Haiti over the next week; he is due to speak to the media on Friday and has a $10m (£7.5m) release clause. Other names linked include Eddie Howe, with BBC Sport reporting compensation due to his former club would be £3m if appointed now, Antonio Conte and Julian Nagelsmann, while Kieran McKenna, who left Ipswich this summer, is also mentioned though United are thought to prefer greater experience.
Berrada and Wilcox are expected to make their recommendation at the Monaco meeting on Wednesday, and players will return to training on 17 November as they prepare for the trip to Liverpool on 22 November.
