Michael Carrick is doing no harm to his own prospects of turning this Man Utd job into a permanent role, and he has now received some support from former teammate Juan Mata.
It’s well-known that Michael Carrick was extremely liked as a player, with his importance to the team not realised until he was absent.
He has brought that same sense of understated but steely competence to the Man Utd manager role, and the club have benefited immensely.
Juan Mata recently championed three traits of Carrick, and they make him the perfect Man Utd manager.
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Michael Carrick on the touchline against West Ham
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Juan Mata on Michael Carrick
Mata and Carrick both came across each other when their careers were at the tail-end, but they nevertheless remained class players who had difference-making outings.
In a recent TalkSport interview, Mata praised Carrick as a player and went on to describe him in three traits, all of which make him the perfect long-term appointment for United.
He said: “Well, Michael is very capable. He’s a very intelligent guy. First of all, as a person, I love him. He was a fantastic teammate, always there for you.
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“He never wanted to take the spotlight, but he let his football talk. He was very important to the team. Always, you know, looking for the passes, especially for players like me, in between the lines.
“In the dressing room. He was always an example for all of us, his character and his professionalism.
“And again, I said it, he’s a very intelligent guy that loves the game, and I’m very happy that, you know, he’s getting the results that the club need. He knows how to get to the players, of course, and yeah, I’m enjoying watching the games at the moment.”
Three traits that make Carrick the perfect Man Utd manager
From Mata’s comments, three words stand out: intelligence, strength of character, and professionalism. All of these are traits that should be non-negotiable in a United manager.
Intelligence
Goes without saying, but the Man Utd manager needs to combine man-management skills with game intelligence and tactical competence, which Carrick has shown in spades so far.
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Michael Carrick applauds after the Premier League match between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford in 2026 in Manchester, England.
Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images
Be it his use of Matheus Cunha, or his midfield setup and buildup play, Carrick has shown promise.
Strength of character
This is perhaps something he’s yet to be tested on, but only because there has been no failure to bounce back from!
Nevertheless, the way his teams have come back in games or won difficult games so far shows he’s transmitting that strength of character to the team.
Professionalism
The players are playing for each other, the dressing room is united, there are no bad eggs, and the leaks have gone cold.
Carrick has taken on the professional environment inherited from Ruben Amorim and maintained the standards, and hasn’t let complacency creep in despite early success. That’s the key tenet of professionalism.
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