Butt clarifies Carrick 'only for the big job' claim that angered Manchester United

Nicky Butt has clarified remarks he made about Michael Carrick’s reluctance to return to management, after Manchester United expressed displeasure at the original comments at a sensitive moment for the club’s under-fire head coach.

Carrick took temporary charge of United in January following the dismissal of Ruben Amorim, guided the club to a third-place Premier League finish and Champions League qualification, and was handed the job on a permanent basis in the summer. The season has since unravelled sharply: Saturday’s 2-0 defeat to Chelsea left United 17th in the Premier League, and the club are now winless across all competitions in their last nine games.

Last month, Butt told The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast that he had spoken to Carrick before the United appointment and that Carrick had said management was “too much” and that his “head’s all over the show” — adding that he would “only do it for the big job.” United were understood to be unhappy with the timing and framing of those comments.

Appearing on Piers Morgan Uncensored, Butt sought to put the conversation in its proper context. “I was playing in a padel tournament with Michael, he’s my doubles partner,” Butt explained. “I had a beer after it and was like, ‘so what’s your plans mate? What do you think you’re going to do when you get back into management?’ He said, ‘no, it’s all over the show, it’s hard work — however, if the big one came up, obviously I would take it.’”

Butt was emphatic that his original remarks were not meant to imply Carrick had reservations about United specifically. “That wasn’t a case of me saying Michael didn’t want the Man United job — it was a case of he didn’t want a job. He didn’t want to go driving up and down the M6 all day when he’s got kids at home for no reward. But if the big one comes, which I assume was Man United, then he’d take it. That’s the facts of the conversation.”

Carrick himself had already dismissed the story at a press conference last month. “I definitely wouldn’t be here if that was the case, would I?” he said. “At this stage, it’s the best job I could possibly have.”

The 45-year-old took the United role seven months after leaving Middlesbrough, his only previous permanent managerial position. With the team deep in the relegation zone and questions mounting over his future, the episode has added an unwanted distraction to an already turbulent period at Old Trafford.