Manchester United and England legend Wayne Rooney has opened up on whether or not he thought Michael Carrick would enter the dugout after his playing career.
Both Michael Carrick and Wayne Rooney shared the pitch together for Manchester United and England during their prolific footballing spells as players.
Rooney also crossed paths with Carrick when he was the head coach of Birmingham City, with his former teammate in the opposing dugout with Middlesbrough.
Carrick’s time at Middlesbrough — his first managerial spell post-playing career — ended in 2025 before the United legend returned to the dugout in 2026.
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Michael Carrick speaks with Jonny Evans during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Fulham at Old Trafford in Manchester, England, in 2026.
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Michael Carrick looks on prior to the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Manchester United at St James’ Park in 2026 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
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Wayne Rooney explains the ‘conversations’ that he had with Man Utd legend Michael Carrick
Michael Carrick was sacked by Middlesbrough and the former Manchester United midfielder has been able to bounce back from his managerial setback so far.
The former Middlesbrough head coach has deeply impressed in his current Man Utd interim managerial role after his stunning return to Old Trafford back in January.
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Carrick stepped in to see out the remainder of the Red Devils’ 2025-26 Premier League season after Ineos made the call to sack Ruben Amorim from his role.
Wayne Rooney has been keen for Carrick’s appointment to be made permanent at United, but the England icon never expected his ex-teammate to be in the dugout.
“No, I didn’t,” he said on BBC Sport’s The Wayne Rooney Show.
“We’d have conversations. I spoke to him before he went in at Middlesbrough and [asked him] whether he wanted to go into it or not.
“And at that time, he was unsure because he’s a massive family man, Michael, and he wanted to go and enjoy his time with his kids.”
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Wayne Rooney’s reaction to Michael Carrick entering management after doubting that he would enter the dugout
Carrick has had a transformative impact on the Red Devils and United have climbed to third place in the table under his interim reign after nine Premier League matches.
The United interim boss has engineered seven wins from nine Premier League fixtures, with the Red Devils suffering only one defeat under Carrick’s tenure.
Speaking on Carrick, Rooney continued: “And I think his kids have got a little bit older now.
“And then he made that decision, obviously, to go into Middlesbrough, done really well there, and then obviously, now he’s got the opportunity at Manchester United.
“So, yeah, I don’t think you do, I’m sure, if you’d asked him about me going into management or would I have said Tom Cleverley would have gone into management? You can never see it really.”
Carrick has eight Premier League matches left in his United interim reign amid being heavily linked with the Red Devils’ permanent head coach role at Old Trafford.
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