Michael Carrick calls for swift resolution to Manchester City financial case

Michael Carrick says the long-running case involving Manchester City’s alleged financial breaches must be resolved as soon as possible, after an independent commission found the club guilty of 114 charges.

The Premier League has confirmed that Manchester City appealed against the commission’s findings. If that appeal fails, the club could face severe sanctions, including being stripped of titles or relegated to lower divisions.

Manchester United manager Carrick was speaking at a news conference on Friday, ahead of his side’s Premier League meeting with Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford on Saturday.

“It is very difficult to comment on it in many ways,” Carrick said, as reported by the BBC. “It has raised a lot of questions. Some have been answered and some have not.

“Because the case is still ongoing, and we do not know how long it will continue, there are limits to what I can say.”

Carrick acknowledged that he had questions of his own about the case and said it had affected him personally over a period of time.

“Certainly, I have my own questions about it, and it has affected me personally in different ways over a period of time,” he added. “But with the case continuing, I do not know where things are or how it will end, so we have to wait and see what happens.

“What I would say is that resolving it as quickly as possible is essential, for the benefit of everyone.”

Carrick also reflected on his time as a Manchester United player, when the club competed with Manchester City for major honours, and discussed the emotions attached to winning and losing in football.

“I think the pursuit of winning, and the emotions and feelings that come with it, are a huge part of sport, particularly football,” he said. “A lot of it is about the moment itself.

“Whether you succeed, lose or things go against you, part of the beauty of sport and football, and the beauty of pursuing trophies here, is the journey towards the goal. Then comes the decisive moment: does it go for you or against you?”

Once that moment has passed, Carrick said, it cannot be recovered.

“The feeling we all seek is to be at the top and to win,” he added. “That sums it up to a large extent. What happened in the past remains in the past, but what you feel in that moment is what stays present.

“That is certainly what we feel as participants and players, and I am sure the fans feel the same. That is why we love football so much – because of the emotions we experience in its decisive moments.”

Carrick’s comments come amid the possibility that Manchester City could be stripped of titles won during the nine-season period under investigation, with those honours potentially transferred to other clubs, including Manchester United.