Michael Carrick has revealed he and his Manchester United squad have not received an apology or a message of any sort from Sir Jim Ratcliffe after his claim that the United Kingdom has been “colonised by immigrants”.
Ratcliffe, United’s largest single shareholder and head of the club’s football policy, made the comments during a Sky News interview on 11 February. The outcry was strong and immediate, leading the 73-year-old to say the next day he was sorry if his “choice of language has offended some people in the UK and Europe”.
United’s squad contains players of diverse backgrounds and Carrick was asked on Friday if Ratcliffe had followed his qualified public apology with one to the interim manager and his players or offered any sort of explanation for his comments. “Last time I saw Jim was Arsenal, and I’m fine with that,” he said of the away win on 25 January. “I don’t think there’s anything, in terms of constant communication from above, [for] my role that I need.
“My role is to create the environment within the group and lead in terms of the first team and beyond that. I’m sitting here now and the supporters listening in, that’s part of my role, but I don’t necessarily need it from above to be constant.”
Carrick, whose team face Everton on Monday night, was asked if Ratcliffe had undermined Manchester United’s ethos, cultivated under Sir Alex Ferguson, of being a club where everyone pulls together. “We’re definitely all pulling together,” he said. “Being around here and being in and around stadiums in the last few weeks, it’s clear [we are] pulling together, pretty strong as a group.”
Since replacing Ruben Amorim on 13 January, Carrick has attended academy games, including the under-18s’ 3-1 win over Manchester City on 14 February. He referenced his experience as a young player at West Ham, where he won the 1998-99 FA Youth Cup, as to why this is vital. “It has a little bit to do with my upbringing,” he said. “At West Ham, Harry [Redknapp] was manager at the time, and Frank [Lampard Sr] assistant manager. A big part was pathways to the first team and a connection with the first team.
“One of my big experiences was playing in the youth cup. We were playing York away – it’s a decent stretch from London, and it was a Tuesday night, and Frank Lampard Sr came and watched. That is something all those years ago I still remember. I missed a penalty on the night.
“It’s that connection and our success, coming to this club, and the history and the traditions here, it’s something I’m passionate about. We want players to come through the system and try and get in the first team and be around it.”
