Manchester United’s fan base is divided on whether Michael Carrick should be appointed full-time manager in the summer, with Rio Ferdinand and Mark Goldbridge disagreeing
Rio Ferdinand wants Michael Carrick to get the full-time job at Manchester United (Image: Rio Ferdinand Presents)
Rio Ferdinand has clashed with Mark Goldbridge over the potential permanent appointment of Michael Carrick as Manchester United’s next manager. Ferdinand has been outspoken in his support of his former teammate who has taken the job full-time, but YouTuber Goldbridge disagrees.
Carrick secured his eighth win in 12 games as caretaker manager when United beat Chelsea 1-0 on Saturday night. Matheus Cunha’s goal made the difference between the two teams, with United leaving Stamford Bridge with three points and a strong chance of qualifying for next season’s Champions League.
United are third in the Premier League, 10 points behind sixth-placed Chelsea, who suffered a fourth straight defeat after failing to score in a league game on Saturday. With just five games left in the season, United are certain to qualify for the Champions League, reinforcing the case for Carrick’s appointment.
CEO Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox have not yet made a decision on whether the interim manager should continue in the 2026/27 season. And the debate has intensified among United fans, including former defender Ferdinand, who laid out his cards on social media on Sunday.
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“Show me who else is out there, who’s realistic, who’s available, who’s coming in. Then I can say, ‘It’s a sure bet,'” he said in a video posted on X. “With everything he’s done at this point, too many people are like, ‘Yeah, but I don’t think he should be that person because of this or that,’ and they don’t even say why.”
“There’s going to be big question marks on everyone you’re talking about there, and there’s still going to be some question marks on Michael Carrick. I’m not saying he’s going to go there and it would be perfect and 100 percent easy if he got the job. But he’s certainly put himself in a position that makes it really difficult for anyone to go, and you can legitimately say, ‘He can’t get it.’
Goldbridge has a total of 3.7 million YouTube subscribers and was acquired by Gary Neville’s company Overlap last week. He clearly disagreed with Ferdinand’s opinion about Carrick and was not shy about saying so.
Mark Goldbridge has a huge following on YouTube (Image: YouTube/The United Stand)
Referring to United’s 2-1 defeat at Leeds last Monday, he replied: “I didn’t say anything after the Leeds game. It’s disgusting.” “Good luck Brent,” Ferdinand retorted, using Goldbridge’s real name Brent di Cesare and linking to a video of him discussing last week’s defeat.
Goldbridge has become a prominent voice among United fans through his United Stand channel and social media presence. Neville’s company paid a seven-figure sum to take control of The United Stand and another stand called That’s Football.
Like Ferdinand, the former England and United right-back had previously clashed with Goldbridge on social media, but brushed it off after the deal was announced. “Mark has criticized me more than anyone else, but I don’t have to agree with him,” Neville told Broadcast Sport. “He knows what he’s doing and he has to keep criticizing me. That’s how the world works.”
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