Lineker warns Fabregas off Manchester United job after Como's 4-1 Champions League demolition

Gary Lineker has told Cesc Fabregas he would be ‘mad’ to take the Manchester United manager’s job, branding Old Trafford a ‘graveyard’ in the wake of Como’s emphatic 4-1 Champions League victory over the Red Devils on Wednesday.

Michael Carrick is facing mounting pressure after his United side were outclassed by Fabregas’ Como, and the Spaniard’s impressive start to management has already seen him linked with the vacancy should the Old Trafford hierarchy decide to act.

Lineker, speaking on the Rest is Football podcast, was unequivocal in his advice. “He’s going to have a big decision at some point because if he continues to have even moderate success with Como a big club will come in for him,” he said. “It might be United. If he takes that job, he’d be mad! It’s a graveyard really.”

Former England striker Alan Shearer echoed those concerns, acknowledging United’s stature while questioning the appeal of the role. “I know it’s a huge football club, but it’s not an attractive job at the minute, because of how many [managers] have been in there and how many have been sacked,” Shearer said. “The only thing attractive about it is he might get a great pay-off in 12 or 18 months’ time.”

Fabregas, meanwhile, was candid about the night’s performance — and offered a rare note of self-criticism despite the convincing scoreline. The former Arsenal and Chelsea midfielder revealed he instructed his players to ease off once Como went 4-0 ahead, a decision he now regrets after United pulled one back late on.

“I regret the last ten minutes because I was the one who told the team to slow down the tempo because there’s another match and at 4-0 we could manage things a little,” he said. “I told the players to stop running and stay in the middle and that is something I regret because I’m the first to always push them to fight until the end. Their goal hurt me because we dropped our intensity and dropped our defensive block, but it was my fault.”

The result represents a significant statement from Como, who are in their first Champions League campaign, and further underlines the scale of the rebuild facing whoever ultimately takes charge at Old Trafford.