Paul Pogba Supports Michael Carrick's Permanent Role at Manchester United
Paul Pogba has seen enough of Manchester United’s false dawns to be wary of hype. This time, though, the former midfielder is convinced the club have chosen wisely by handing Michael Carrick the job on a permanent basis.
United emerged from a turbulent 2025/26 campaign with something they have been starved of for years: clarity. They finished third in the Premier League, returned to the Champions League after a two-year exile and, crucially, found a manager who looks and feels like a natural fit.
That was far from guaranteed when the season began.
From uncertainty to authority
The campaign opened under Ruben Amorim, with United again drifting between ideas and identities. Performances veered from erratic to flat, the mood in the stands matching the inconsistency on the pitch. By the turn of the year, the club acted. Amorim was dismissed, Carrick was promoted from within and asked to steady a listing ship, initially on an interim basis.
He did far more than that.
Across 17 Premier League games, Carrick’s United collected 12 wins, three draws and only two defeats. The numbers are impressive; the change in feeling around Old Trafford was even more striking. United played on the front foot, pressed higher, moved the ball quicker. There was intent, not just possession. The crowd responded instantly.
For the first time in a long while, United looked like a side with a plan – and a manager who could carry it.
The board kept repeating that there would be no rush, no emotional decision based on a short bounce. They would scan the market, weigh every option, take their time. But as Carrick’s side kept winning, that stance began to sound more like formality than threat. The job, in reality, was his to lose.
Last month, the inevitable became official. Carrick was confirmed as permanent manager.
Pogba’s seal of approval
From afar, Pogba has watched the shift with interest. The Frenchman, who made 233 appearances across two spells for United, knows Carrick not just as a former team-mate but as a coach. Speaking to Sky Sports, he made his stance clear.
“I think he’s doing a great job and he did it also at the time when he was the assistant of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer,” Pogba said, highlighting that Carrick’s influence predates this run in the dugout.
“He’s a great guy, he has experience, he was a great player, and he has a very good connection with the players, you could see it when he took the team.”
That connection has been central to the shift. Carrick, a United legend in his own right, carries instant credibility in the dressing room. He understands the club’s demands, but just as importantly, he understands the modern player. The squad have bought into his ideas quickly, and the results have followed.
“I think it’s going to be good for United,” Pogba added. “I wish them the best, obviously, for him and all the staff and the players.”
No grand predictions, no sweeping declarations. Just a firm belief that United have finally aligned the manager’s profile with the club’s needs.
A different kind of hope
United’s hierarchy now face a crucial summer. Champions League football is back on the calendar, and with it comes both opportunity and scrutiny. The optimism around Carrick’s impact will only hold if the club back his approach in the transfer market and resist the urge to rip up the blueprint at the first sign of turbulence.
For once, though, Old Trafford doesn’t feel like it’s bracing for the next crisis. It feels like it’s waiting to see how far this version of United, under this manager, can go.
Pogba has moved on, but his verdict echoes the mood of many inside the club and in the stands: Carrick has earned this chance. Now the question is not whether he deserves the job.
It’s how far he can take it.
