Vieira reveals what it was really like working under Ratcliffe as Carrick faces axe

Patrick Vieira has offered a rare first-hand account of working under Sir Jim Ratcliffe, just as the INEOS chief prepares to dismiss Michael Carrick as Manchester United manager following a 3-0 home defeat to Bournemouth.

Vieira managed Ratcliffe’s Ligue 1 club Nice between June 2018 and December 2020, when he was sacked after five consecutive defeats left the side 11th in the table. Despite that abrupt end, the Arsenal legend and France World Cup winner spoke positively of Ratcliffe’s management style in an interview with FourFourTwo. “He’d never interfere with my work,” Vieira said. “We’d talk about football when we met, about the team and our lives, but he’s not an owner who will get involved too much and prevent the manager from doing his job. His ambitions and expectations are high, so you know where you stand, but you can do your job freely.”

That hands-off description sits in some tension with the record. Nice have employed eight managers in the less than six years since Vieira’s dismissal, with current head coach Olivier Pantaloni — appointed last summer — already navigating a side sitting 10th in Ligue 1 after eight games.

At Old Trafford, Ratcliffe’s tenure has followed a similarly turbulent pattern. INEOS took charge of football operations at United roughly three years ago, and Carrick would become the third manager sacked under that regime if, as widely expected, he is relieved of his duties before Saturday’s trip to Chelsea.

Carrick himself appeared to acknowledge the situation in his post-match press conference after the Bournemouth loss, where supporters chanted his name in what felt like a farewell. “I take the responsibility, I’ve said that, I accept the responsibility,” he told reporters. “Whatever is going to happen results-wise, whether we win, we lose, draw — whatever happens through the whole football club, I’m in this position because I respect the position that I’m in, and the responsibility is mine.”

Asked directly whether he expected to be dismissed imminently, Carrick added: “I totally understand the situation. I’m not expecting anything in particular, to be honest. I’m carrying on as normal. I love this place. I’ll always do what I feel is going to be the best for the football club, whatever decision is made.”

Ratcliffe’s football portfolio extends beyond United and Nice to Swiss side FC Lausanne-Sport, but it is the Premier League club that has drawn the sharpest scrutiny. United fans directed anger at both Ratcliffe and the Glazers during the Bournemouth defeat, reflecting mounting frustration with the direction of a club that has struggled to find stability under INEOS leadership.