Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher mocked Manchester United great Rio Ferdinand with a brutal tweet after United’s 2-0 Champions League win over Villarreal this morning.
It was the first match in charge for United’s interim manager Michael Carrick, who stepped up following Monday’s merciful firing of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
And Carragher couldn’t resist a dig at Ferdinand, referencing his comments after Solskjaer had achieved a similar Champions League triumph as an interim manager over Paris Saint-Germain in 2019.
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Carragher, Ferdinand and Carrick are former England teammates with the former two turning to television punditry instead of coaching.
After the Villarreal win, which secured qualification for the last 16, Carrick firmed as the bookmakers’ third favourite as Solskjaer’s permanent replacement behind Mauricio Pochettino and Ernesto Valverde.
“He’s now the saviour, give Carrick the job, right?” a tongue-in-cheek Craig Foster quipped on Stan Sport’s coverage.
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“You know what, if he goes and beats someone, that’s what’ll happen, they’ll end up back in the same spot. That’s the problem with the club.”
Former Socceroos captain Foster said he would prefer to see Ajax’s Erik ten Hag get a crack.
“I would love to see a great club like Manchester United do something like that. Bring someone in who is actually capable of thrilling people with their football as well.”
Former United goalkeeper Mark Bosnich said the club’s brass needed to make a hire “ASAP” but didn’t think it would be Carrick.
“It’s unsustainable and when I say a manager, a top manager because you can see when these boys get a bit of direction, they can do things,” Bosnich said.
Stan Sport’s European football expert Lars Sivertsen, meanwhile, believed PSG manager Pochettino would be a terrific fit at United.
“For all of Pochettino’s undoubted acumen, I’m not sure gently massaging the egos of (Kylian) Mbabbe and Neymar is what he’s good at,” Sivertsen said.
“What he’s been good at is making fit and hungry young players run through walls for him at Southampton and Tottenham and Man United with (Jadon) Sancho, (Marcus) Rashford and (Mason) Greenwood and these guys running around for Pochettino, I can completely see it in my mind’s eye, it seems like such a better fit for me.
“So some sort of managerial shuffle, where maybe Zidane steps in at PSG to see if he can sweet talk the big names and Pochettino goes off to Old Trafford to get the best out of what is a very interesting group of young players. It would make so much more sense.”
Sivertsen conceded that managing Ronaldo could also be an issue but “I think Pochettino would see it as an upgrade to have one of these guys who he has to fit in rather than three of them really (including Lionel Messi).
“For the way he coaches, yeah, he’d have to make some compromises but fewer than at PSG. Pochettino to United seems like such a good fit to me.
“The challenge is extricating him from PSG if they don’t want to let him go because they have all the money in the world and they’re hard to bully. I think everyone knows that they want Pochettino so it becomes kind of awkward if you end up with someone else.”
Pochettino was aware of what he called “rumours” – “I am not a child,” he said, “I understand what is going on” – but was focused on working at PSG and stressed he still had more than a year and a half left on his contract.
“I am so happy in Paris St Germain and I am so focused. I was a player in Paris St. Germain, I love the club, I love the fans. It is a fantastic time to be at the club,” Pochettino said.
“My contract is to 2023, this season and one more. I don’t say nothing different. I am really happy at Paris St. Germain, that is a fact.”
United is looking to make a permanent appointment ahead of next season.
“We cannot talk about that for my respect for Paris St. Germain and my respect for another club.
“It is not my business, not my problem.”