Report: Casemiro Exit Weighed on Carrick's Manchester United Dismissal

What happened

Manchester United dismissed manager Michael Carrick and replaced him with Mauricio Pochettino after a poor start to the season that produced only one win and left the club in the Premier League relegation zone, according to the Brazilian outlet Trivela. The report, citing behind-the-scenes coverage from The Athletic, links the dismissal in part to the club's failure to account for the impact of Casemiro's departure.

Report details

Casemiro's contract with United expired at the end of last season, and he joined Inter Miami on a free transfer. Trivela reports that the absence of the Brazilian midfielder was felt particularly in set pieces, an area that caused dissatisfaction for sporting director Jason Wilcox and, among various reasons, weighed on the decision to dismiss Carrick. The report notes that Casemiro's exit had been announced in January and was already certain for the INEOS management, which took over after his 2022 signing on a four-year deal. The player had been earning a reported £300,000 per week, and at 34 his salary ran against the club's current direction.

According to the report, United led the set-piece performance indicator last season with 98 points, a metric combining expected goals generated from set plays (weighted 70%) with goals scored per 100 set-piece deliveries (weighted 30%). Under Carrick this season, the report says, that figure fell from 98 to 9, with only one set-piece goal scored in the Premier League. Trivela attributes much of that drop to Casemiro, who it says was the target of numerous corners and free kicks, scored eight set-piece goals in 2025/26 — more than any other squad member — and was responsible for about 27% of the expected goals coming from corners. Four of those goals opened the scoring, one broke a tie and another equalized, the report states, adding that his performances drew applause and calls from the Old Trafford stands for "one more year" late in the season.

The report says United's three midfield signings this season — Youri Tielemans, Carlos Baleba and Andrey Santos — had scored only one goal between them at the time of writing, with only the Belgian playing regularly. Carrick avoided controversy over the club's transfer activity, limiting himself to saying they should "go beyond," according to Trivela, but his request for a new centre-forward — made more urgent by Benjamin Sesko's injury — and for a left-back went unmet. The report lists Elliot Anderson, who went to Manchester City, as the priority midfield target, followed by Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali (both to Tottenham), Aurélien Tchouaméni (who stayed at Real Madrid), Alex Scott (who remained at Bournemouth), Éderson (Atalanta, not signed due to medical issues) and Ayyoub Bouaddi (also to City). Trivela characterizes the signed trio as below the seventh position on the club's priority list, describing a management that it says does not know what it wants, cannot convince players and ends up dismissing the coach.