Manchester United manager Michael Carrick has spoken out about the situation at Manchester City. The Citizens are awaiting the FA's sanction for breaching 114 financial rules. Carrick says he has been 'personally affected' by City's actions.
City broke no fewer than 114 rules between 2009 and 2018, the FA recently concluded. During that period, the club concealed the equivalent of around €1 billion in income through sham contracts with commercial partners. Across those nine years, City won the Premier League three times, the FA Cup three times and the Carabao Cup once.
Carrick finished as Premier League runner-up with United twice in that spell. In 2012, City won the title thanks to Sergio Agüero's legendary stoppage-time goal against QPR. In 2018, with Carrick then working as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's assistant, United again finished second behind champions City.
"Football is about the will to win, the emotion and the feeling you get when you win. A lot of that takes place in the moment itself," Carrick was quoted as saying at the press conference before the match with Tottenham Hotspur by, among others, the BBC.
"You cannot reverse that. That is the moment you strive towards. That is essentially what we all do it for. That is the feeling we all long for. The beauty of trying to win trophies is the journey towards it and then the final."
"You win or you lose. Once that has happened, there is no way back. I do not want to be indifferent about it, but in any sport, if you get a medal later, it does not give you the same feeling as when you win in the moment itself."
Premier League guidelines say the investigation should be completed around Christmas. If that happens, the sanction will be announced at the start of 2027. Whether the investigation will actually be finished by the end of this year remains unclear because of the scale of the scandal.
"It has raised a lot of questions," Carrick continued. "Some received answers, others did not. I certainly have questions about it myself as well. It has affected me personally in various ways over a certain period."
He did not want to be drawn on whether the titles won between 2009 and 2018 should be taken away from City. "What I do want to say is that it is essential, in everyone's interest, that this is resolved as quickly as possible."
"It is unprecedented, a unique situation at this level, with such an enormous impact in so many ways. We all need to know what is going to happen," Carrick concluded.
United have started the season badly, taking five points from five matches, but are still doing better than their opponents. Bottom side and Carrick's former club Spurs failed to score in their first four matches and have just two points after five games.