Manchester United has now confirmed the former Middlesbrough and interim manager of Manchester United as the head coach. Michael Carrick has signed a new two-year deal with Manchester United. Yankee Scores reports.
The former United midfielder, who was appointed in January as the interim head coach following the termination of Ruben Amorim’s contract as the head coach, has been rewarded fully with a full-time job after his impressive run in 16 games till the end of the season.
It’s Carrick, you know ❤️
🇾🇪 We are delighted to announce Michael Carrick will continue as our head coach, having signed a new contract.
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) May 22, 2026
Michael Carrick took charge with United seventh in the Premier League, but secured a Champions League spot and clinched the third position with Sunday’s 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest with a game to spare.
United return to the Champions League for the first time since 2023/24 season. Under Carrick, United have won 11 out 16 games, drawing 3 and losing 2, which led to him being nominated for the Premier League Manager of the Season.
After his playing career at Old Trafford, where he won five Premier League titles, a Champions League title and a FA Cup, Carrick joined the coaching staff of Jose Mourinho immediately after this retirement in 2018.
Following Mourinho’s dismissal, Carrick remained alongside Ole Gunnar Solskjaer before his contract was also terminated in 2021. Carrick then took up his first managerial role at Middlesbrough in 2022. He lead the club to the play-offs in his first season and a Carabao semi-final in 2024. He was let go in June 2025.
According to Sky Sports, his new contract with Manchester United is technically an extension of the deal he had which ran until the end of the season because Man Utd made it clear in January he was not an interim appointment.
As reported by various sources, United carried out a ‘thorough and discreet process’ led by Director of Football Jason Wilcox to decide who would be the head coach next season and ultimately decided Carrick was the best candidate against the current market.
Former teammate now pundit Gary Neville praised Carrick’s performance with the club, while also pointing out areas to improve upon,
“He’s done a fantastic job as almost like a caretaker, interim. But now permanent manager comes with a different level of pressure, different level of expectation.
“Manchester United need a lot of players, let’s be really clear. I don’t think Michael will be fooled by that. I don’t think any United fan will be fooled by that. They’ll realise there’s a nucleus of probably five or six that you can build around but beyond that there needs to be some additions that take the quality up in the stability and the resilience of the squad.”
