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.