Manchester: Michael Carrick has admitted he is likely to retire this summer if Manchester United do not offer him a new contract at the end of the season.
The midfielder, who will mark more than a decade at Old Trafford with a testimonial in June that is expected to raise around 1 million pounds (Dh4.4 million) for charity, said he would shortly sit down for talks about his future with manager Jose Mourinho.
Carrick, 35, has four months left on his contract, but while he hopes to be offered a 12-month extension, he does not want to play for another club in England after 11 years at United and would seriously consider retirement if he is released.
Asked if he would retire after leaving United, Carrick said: “I probably would say yes. I couldn’t say definitely but pretty much. I have had so many good times here that I couldn’t play anywhere else in England. I haven’t had that much of a conversation with him [Mourinho]. Obviously that will happen, pretty soon I’d have thought. That’s something I’m really relaxed about. I’m sure he is as well.”
Carrick would have been released last summer had Louis van Gaal remained in charge at United. But he plans to bow out at the top and has consulted former teammates such as Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville.
United’s EFL Cup win on Sunday was the 16th trophy Carrick has won at Old Trafford since his 18.6-million-pounds move from Tottenham in 2006. “I have spoken to them,” he said.
“You know in yourself. Neville is probably the obvious one. He stopped halfway through the season. He said, ‘You know what, that’s it, I can’t do it now’, which you have got to respect.
“For me, it’s a pride thing of knowing what you’ve achieved and the standards you’ve set that you don’t want to be dropping right below them. I have always wanted to go out at the top. That’s not me being selfish, I just don’t want to go over the hill and fizzle out. I’d want to be going out when I still feel I’m contributing enough.”
If Carrick becomes a free agent in the summer, he said he would consider the prospect of a move to China or Major League Soccer in the US but that any decision would be taken with his young family firmly in mind.
“China? It is one of those questions that is popping up in everyone’s minds at the moment but who knows?” he said. “It depends what the options are and what’s right for the family and kids.”
Carrick’s testimonial will pit a United 2008 XI, managed by Sir Alex Ferguson, against a Michael Carrick All Stars side and take place at Old Trafford on June 4. All proceeds after expenses will go to charities based in Manchester and Carrick’s home city of Newcastle via the newly-created Michael Carrick Foundation.
Meanwhile, Fabio Cannavaro, coach of Tianjin Quanjian in the Chinese Super League, has claimed he was offered the chance to sign Marouane Fellaini by the United midfielder’s agent. “Marouane Fellaini was offered to me, but I told his broker that I was looking for a different profile,” he said.
