The Manchester United leadership decided to bet on the continuity of Michael Carrick at the head of the team. The English club confirmed this Friday that the former midfielder will leave behind his status as interim coach and will assume the position permanently for the next two seasons, with the option of extending the contract for an additional year.

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The determination comes after a second half of the campaign in which the Old Trafford team managed to reverse a complicated scenario after the departure of Rúben Amorim.

Carrick took charge in January and, in just five months, led the team to third place in the Premier League, only behind Arsenal and Manchester City, in addition to ensuring a return to the Champions League after a season without presence in European tournaments.

The English coach has led 16 games since taking office. Under his leadership, Manchester United accumulated eleven wins, three draws and just two defeats, numbers that ended up convincing the board to keep him as leader of the new sports project.

Carrick, historically identified with the institution for his time as a footballer, was also nominated for the award for best coach of the season thanks to the immediate impact he had on the team.

"From the moment I arrived twenty years ago, I felt the magic of Manchester United. Carrying the responsibility of leading such a special club fills me with pride. In the last five months this group of players has shown that we can reach the level of resilience, unity and determination that is needed here. Now is the time to move forward, with ambition. Manchester United fans deserve for us to fight for the most important titles again," declared the coach.

The challenge of returning United to the fight for titles

Carrick's continuity represents another attempt by Manchester United to find stability after more than a decade marked by constant changes on the bench. Since the departure of Alex Ferguson in 2013, seven different coaches have passed through Old Trafford without managing to consolidate a long-term winning project.

In that period, only three strategists managed to win titles. Louis van Gaal won an FA Cup; José Mourinho won the Europa League and the League Cup; while Erik ten Hag won an FA Cup and a League Cup despite the criticism he received during his management.

The pressure will be different now for Carrick. The club will once again compete in the UEFA Champions League and expectations are that the team will compete again for the Premier League, a tournament it has not won since Ferguson's farewell thirteen years ago.

Another key point for the next transfer market will be the departure of Brazilian Casemiro, who will leave the club when his contract ends in June. Manchester United will have to look for a replacement for one of the most important players in the midfield in recent seasons.