Manchester United captain Michael Carrick has confirmed he is to call it quits with professional football at the end of the season.
Carrick revealed this at a press conference at Old Trafford on Monday while previewing the second-leg round of 16 UEFA Champions League clash against Sevilla.
United manager Jose Mourinho has already suggested the 36-year-old will be retiring which former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder has now clarified.
“I think it’s pretty much already been said, to be honest with you,” he replied when asked whether he was retiring. “There comes a time when, as much as you like or don’t like it, your body tells you it’s time to stop playing football. That’s pretty much where I’m at, which is fine. It’s something you have to accept. That’s where I’m at.”
When asked whether he would be joining Mourinho’s backroom team, he said: “Yes. It’s kind of been sorted out. We’re still talking about it, to be honest, so there’s nothing totally confirmed as yet. But it’s looking likely, yes.”
On whether he still hopes to play a part in the run-in after recovering fully from a heart problem earlier in the season: “Obviously, I had the problem in the Burton game, when it started during the second half, and then had a few tests after that.
“The same problem came back on the Sunday of that week in training, so then I had the procedure the following week, which I went through and now it’s totally fine and I’m clear. It took a little bit of time to get over but there were some times when, for two or three days, I was thinking ‘am I going to carry on playing or not?’ or ‘is it kind of worth it or not?’ but that quickly passed.
“I got back fit and I wanted to finish on my own terms really. At least I could decide and not be forced because of that, so I was determined to get back fit. I understood after getting back fit that I wouldn’t be playing as many games as perhaps I might have done, but that’s something that I understood. I’ve just been training hard and trying to keep fit and have managed to play a few games so far and we’ll see what happens towards the end of the season.”
Carrick joined United in 2006 and won five Premier League titles (2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013), one FA Cup (2016) and three League Cups ( 2009, 2010, 2017).
He also helped United win the UEFA Champions League (2008), FIFA Club World Cup (2008) and the UEFA Europa League (2017).
