Michael Carrick insists he remains unoffended by Paul Scholes’ recent comments following Manchester United’s first defeat under his interim management—a 2-1 loss to 10-man Newcastle at St James’ Park.
Scholes’ Instagram Post Sparks Debate
Scholes, a former United midfielder who played alongside Carrick for seven years, drew attention with an Instagram post after the match. He wrote: “Michael has definitely got something about him…cos United have been crap last 4 games…night.”
The remark appeared to some as a personal jab, especially with Carrick and Scholes now on different sides of the manager-media dynamic. Newcastle’s late goal secured the victory despite their numerical disadvantage.
Carrick Clears the Air
Ahead of United’s Premier League clash with Aston Villa, Carrick addressed the issue in a press conference. “There’s nothing to say about it really,” he stated. “I think that’s just where we are in terms of social media and things and captions and quotes and it can be taken in different ways.”
“Calm about it and understand actually what the real meaning of things. So, listen, there’s different opinions out there, you know, and it’s fine, people can have different opinions. It’s just things get taken way out of one extreme to the other and it is what it is, but I’m not worried about it. So I don’t make a big deal of it either.”
Scholes Explains on Podcast
Scholes later clarified his intentions on The Good, The Bad and The Football podcast. “It was in no way intended to be offensive towards Michael. Michael’s one of the nicest people in football, he would be the last person I want to offend,” he said.
He confirmed messaging Carrick directly: “I went straight to him and said ‘Look I had no intention of upsetting you’. I don’t think I needed to say that anyway, and he told me himself he wasn’t upset by it.”
Scholes emphasized the post highlighted United’s results despite subpar performances over four games. “The only thing I was saying was that I don’t think they played that well the last four games and he’s still managing to get results,” he added. “We had the greatest manager in the world and he always said sometimes you need a bit of luck. So with sending-offs and different things that happen through games, sometimes you do need a bit of luck, that’s all I was saying.”
