MANCHESTER: Michael Carrick reportedly shed tears as he bid farewell to Manchester United players after being sacked as manager of the club after just 10 months in charge.

The 45-year-old former United midfielder was summoned to a meeting at Carrington training ground before being told he was being terminated. Carrick and his coaching staff are reportedly set to receive a compensation of £5 million.

According to international media reports, the dismissals also saw United’s spending on manager compensation since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013 increase to more than 100 million pounds.

“He cried as he said goodbye to the players. He basically just said, ‘I’m gone, guys’, before shaking hands with a few players, getting into the car and driving away,” a source quoted by SunSport said.

Carrick’s position is increasingly under threat after United recorded only one win from 11 matches, causing the club to fall into the relegation zone.

In fact, he is said to have been expecting his dismissal since last Monday when Mauricio Pochettino was reported to be the club’s main target.

Despite realizing his position was becoming shaky, Carrick remained at the training center throughout the international break to mentor the players still in Manchester.

The report also claims that most of the players still support him.

However, United’s dressing room is said to be unhappy with the summer transfer plans which allegedly failed to provide a more balanced squad.

The club spent 155 million pounds on Youri Tielemans, Andrey Santos and Carlos Baleba to replace Casemiro, but failed to bring in Lewis Hall as an option at left-back.

The failure to strengthen several positions also sparked tensions when Lisandro Martinez openly questioned the club’s management after a 1-2 defeat to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League last month.

Martinez later apologized, but the incident reportedly led to the club ordering the players to cancel a dinner with their partners at the Cibo restaurant in Hale, Cheshire.

Carrick is said to have previously told the players that the squad’s weaknesses would be addressed in the January transfer window, but some players remain unhappy with chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox.

Tensions also rose after captain Bruno Fernandes criticised Carrick’s tactical approach following the 4-1 defeat to Como in the Champions League. Carrick then responded by insisting that players still need to work hard regardless of the tactical approach used.

According to sources quoted by SunSport, Fernandes did not agree with the tactical changes introduced by Carrick and his assistant, Steve Holland, at the beginning of this season, and several other players even wanted the team to return to the old approach.

Carrick, however, maintained his principles as the team struggled to find victory before eventually losing his job.

LONDON: England captain Harry Kane will complete his glorious year when he has the opportunity to break the record for most appearances with The Three Lions squad in the Nations League match against Croatia this Friday.

The Bayern Munich striker will make his 126th appearance when he leads the team to play at Wembley, surpassing the record of 125 appearances held by former England goalkeeper Peter Shilton, which has stood since 1990.

The achievement was another special moment for Kane after he became the first English player in 25 years to win the Ballon d’Or award last October.

Kane’s pride in winning the prestigious award was clearly evident in his emotional speech during the awards ceremony in London.

The new record is also a testament to the physical endurance and consistency of the 33-year-old player who continues to be a mainstay for England.

Kane is currently England’s all-time top scorer with 91 goals, as well as holding Tottenham Hotspur’s all-time scoring record with 280 goals.

Since leaving the club that raised him to join Bayern in 2023, Kane has continued to improve his level of play.

He has scored 156 goals with the German club and finally won the first major trophy of his career with the Bundesliga championship in 2025 and 2026.

Apart from his sharpness in front of goal, Kane also showed maturity as a leader when he reportedly expressed dissatisfaction with England manager Thomas Tuchel’s tactical approach during the defeat to Argentina in the World Cup semi-final last July.

Tuchel employed a more defensive approach to defend the 1-0 lead, but Argentina seized their chances to score two late goals, denying Kane his first appearance in a World Cup final.

Kane is then said to have led discussions with his teammates and Tuchel to discuss the tactical approach ahead of the international break in September.

Kane’s England teammate and Bayer Leverkusen defender Jarell Quansah admitted he has great respect for the striker, not to mention having faced him in the Bundesliga.

Kane became the first Bundesliga player to win the Ballon d’Or since Matthias Sammer in 1996.

“The whole Bundesliga is actually very happy because it’s been a long time since there was a winner in this league. They received his arrival very well and everyone knows the quality he has.

“He’s a scary player to play against. Nobody wants to play against him. Almost every week he scores a goal and everyone knows what he’s capable of.

“I think he’s also received a good reception from fans of some other clubs, and that’s something that’s pretty good,” Quansah told the BBC.

Since scoring just 79 seconds after making his debut as a substitute against Lithuania in 2015, Kane has continued to be a key player for England.

He now dreams of becoming the first England men’s captain to lift an international trophy since Bobby Moore led the team to victory in the 1966 World Cup.

However, Kane has twice experienced disappointment when England lost in the finals of the 2021 and 2024 European Championships.

However, Quansah believes Kane’s contribution is not only limited to goals and achievements on the field, but also through his professional attitude and leadership within the squad.

“He is a true professional and has done everything. Most importantly is the high standards he sets off the field.

“He’s always the first one out for meetings and waits until the whole squad is together. He won’t let his teammates do things on their own.

“Overall, he’s really a great captain,” he said.

KUALA LUMPUR: Liverpool legend Ian Rush believes his former club are still capable of finishing this season’s Premier League (EPL) in the top four despite facing a less than convincing start.

Rush admitted that Arsenal and Manchester City are the favourites at the moment, but he did not see Liverpool’s position as something to worry about.

“For me, Arsenal and Manchester City are the favorites. But this isn’t a bad start for Liverpool.

“Actually I expected us to get a positive result against Arsenal, but it didn’t happen. If we won, the gap would have been only three points but now it’s nine points.

“So it’s not easy, but I believe Liverpool are on the right track. They know what they’re doing and success won’t come overnight,” he said when met at an event organised by Standard Chartered here.

The former Wales striker said that Liverpool’s main target this season is to secure a place in the Champions League, but admitted that the competition is becoming more open with several other teams also showing encouraging performances.

“I think the main target is to qualify for the Champions League. We’ve already talked about Arsenal and Manchester City, they really stand out.

“Brighton also beat Manchester City the other day, so the competition is still wide open. With teams like Manchester United, Liverpool, Tottenham, and Chelsea in the mix, and even Bournemouth and Brentford also posing a growing challenge, it’s going to be an exciting league campaign.

Rush, who scored 346 goals in over 660 appearances over 15 years with Liverpool, also recalled the most meaningful moments throughout his career, including the winning goal in the 1986 FA Cup final which he described as a dream since childhood.

“All the goals I’ve scored for Liverpool are special. My dream since I was a kid was to score the winning goal in the 1986 FA Cup final.

“My dream came true, so that’s one of them. But I think the first goal I scored for Liverpool gave me the confidence to keep scoring so many goals.

“Before that I played seven matches without scoring any goals. I came on as a substitute, scored the first goal in the European Cup and that gave me the confidence to continue scoring more goals,” he said.

LIVERPOOL: The defeat to Arsenal in a fierce Premier League (EPL) match is not expected to break Liverpool’s momentum as they are now eyeing a fourth consecutive victory in the Champions League (UCL) when they face Fenerbahce in Istanbul early Thursday morning.

The journey in the EPL is still long, but Arsenal’s victory at Anfield is considered a crucial decision for both teams.

Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola also could not hide his disappointment over the incident that became the focus of the match when Jurrien Timber’s action of pulling Alexander Isak’s shirt in the penalty box was not penalised by referee Andy Madley.

The match was decided by a narrow margin, but the defeat sees Liverpool now nine points behind Arsenal, who are back at the top of the league table.

However, Liverpool displayed a convincing performance and are in a better position on the UCL stage after winning all three previous matches.

The Reds’ injury list has also been decreasing since the last international break, in addition to several key players starting to show improved performance, including Isak, who is now second in the EPL scoring list with six goals.

Liverpool’s performance is seen to be improving, in contrast to Fenerbahce who are currently sixth in the Turkish Super League after suffering two consecutive defeats.

The Istanbul giants are among the biggest spenders in Turkish football and have also made major changes to their attacking line-up in the summer transfer window by bringing in Romelu Lukaku, Mason Greenwood and Vedat Muriqi from Napoli, Marseille and Mallorca.

Muriqi was previously part of the Mallorca squad that was relegated to the Segunda Division, but still finished the season as La Liga’s second-highest scorer with 23 goals, just two goals short of Kylian Mbappe.

The Kosovo striker also made a brilliant start to his new club, scoring seven goals in 10 league appearances.

Fenerbahce have scored 24 goals in the league, but their defensive weaknesses were clearly evident when they were thrashed 6-0 by Aston Villa in the second leg of the UCL.

Despite playing at home in two out of three UCL matches so far, Fenerbahce still failed to record a win and only collected two points.

Victory over Liverpool is seen as very important for the team, who have to endure three away matches in the remaining four league phase matches.

However, their preparations have been affected by fitness issues for Greenwood and defender Nathan Ake, who has not played since the 2-2 draw against Slavia Prague in the third leg of the UCL.

Fenerbahce, who are plagued by injury problems, also lost 2-1 to Goztepe, a mid-league team, in last Saturday’s match.

Therefore, they will face a much tougher test against Liverpool and risk becoming victims of The Reds’ resurgence on the European stage.

LONDON: Michael Carrick’s position as Manchester United manager is increasingly under threat after his squad suffered a 0-2 defeat to Chelsea in the English Premier League (EPL) match at Stamford Bridge last night.

The defeat saw United extend their winless streak to nine consecutive matches in all competitions, increasing the pressure on Carrick, who had previously enjoyed the trust of the club’s management.

The cheers from Chelsea fans who chanted ‘You’ll be sacked tomorrow morning’ as Carrick left the pitch also illustrated the growing pressure the manager was feeling.

However, the former United midfielder avoided commenting on his future and instead wanted to focus on the team’s preparations for the Champions League match against Roma on Wednesday.

“I just want to focus on preparing the players for the midweek match,” he said.

United actually started the match with energy in the first half after captain Bruno Fernandes returned to the starting lineup, but failed to capitalize on several opportunities through Fernandes, Matheus Cunha and Amad Diallo.

Bryan Mbuemo also came close to opening the scoring when his attempt just rattled the goalpost.

However, failure to capitalise on that opportunity punished United when Morgan Rogers put Chelsea ahead four minutes into the second half.

Rogers brought the ball from his own area before passing through a United defence that seemed hesitant to react, before beating goalkeeper Senne Lammens with a stunning finish.

United’s situation worsened when Lisandro Martinez was shown a red card following a hard tackle on Wesley Fofana midway through the second half, awarding Chelsea a penalty.

Cole Palmer converted a penalty kick in the 63rd minute, although Lammens managed to touch the ball while trying to clear the attempt.

Carrick admitted that his team’s failure to capitalize on opportunities and defensive mistakes were the cause of the defeat.

“We failed to capitalize on the opportunities we had. The second half was out of our control. There are times in a game when you face difficult situations and you have to overcome them.

“You concede easy goals and things become more challenging when you have to play with 10 players,” he said.

Carrick also praised the spirit of his players who remained united despite facing difficult times recently.

The result saw United risk falling into the relegation zone as they were in 17th place, just one point above the bottom three, while Chelsea temporarily jumped to fourth place.