Michael Carrick's Support Network at Manchester United
Michael Carrick will never be short of familiar faces if he ever needs help at Manchester United.
Across continents and career paths, some of his most decorated former team-mates are effectively on standby – ready, they say, to drop what they’re doing to work alongside him at Old Trafford.
Silvestre’s executive offer
Mikael Silvestre is one of them. The former France defender, who spent nine trophy-laden seasons at United, has made it clear he would happily return – not to the dugout, but upstairs.
Silvestre shared a dressing room with Carrick in his final two years at the club and has since carved out a career in football administration rather than coaching. After hanging up his boots in 2014, he earned his coaching badges but turned his back on the training pitch, opting instead for a director of football role at Rennes, the club where he started his professional journey. His most recent stint in that position came at Romanian side CFR Cluj.
Speaking to Grosvenor Sport, Silvestre admitted he would be open to teaming up with Carrick in a similar capacity at United, even if he recognises there is no obvious vacancy.
“Would these former players come back to Manchester United to work under Michael Carrick? I don’t know because I believe his coaching team is already full,” he said. “It’s a department that has everyone it needs so I don’t see anybody coming in from the outside to offer something extra.
“I earned my coaching badges but it’s not for me. I’d prefer the Director of Football role which I did at Rennes after I completed my Masters in sports management. I will go and watch United in September and observe training but like all former players I look out for all my clubs, although I look out for United more specifically than others.
“I played for them for nine years, after all.”
That preferred role is currently occupied. Jason Wilcox was promoted to director of football earlier this year, stepping up in the months after Dan Ashworth’s departure. For now, Silvestre remains an admirer from afar, but his message is unmistakable: if United ever call, he is ready.
Rooney: “It’s a no-brainer”
Silvestre is not alone. Wayne Rooney, the club’s all-time leading scorer and one of Carrick’s closest on-field allies during their playing days, has already nailed his colours to the mast.
Out of management since his short and bruising spell at Plymouth Argyle in 2024, Rooney has moved into punditry and media work. Yet he has admitted there is one job that would pull him straight back into the daily grind: joining Carrick at United.
Speaking in January, Rooney was asked whether he would consider a role under his former midfield partner. His response was instant.
“Of course I would. It’s a no-brainer,” he said. “I’m not begging a job here by the way. Just so everyone knows, if I was asked to go in of course I would. Appointing the manager is the most important thing.”
No conditions. No caveats. If Carrick wanted him, Rooney would walk back through the doors at Carrington without hesitation.
Valencia’s open invitation
On another continent, Antonio Valencia feels much the same.
The former United captain spent nine years in the same dressing room as Carrick, evolving from winger to full-back and lifting major honours along the way. Now 40 and working for Telemundo Deportes as part of their World Cup coverage, he remains emotionally tethered to Old Trafford.
Asked by Hajper whether he would consider returning to United in any capacity, Valencia did not hesitate.
“Yes, I would go back. Manchester United is a club that gave me so much,” he said. “My family was very happy there. I would work for Manchester United in any role, out of passion. It is a club I love a lot. I think everything they are doing is going well. But if they called me, I would go running.”
No job title required. No specific brief. Just a willingness to serve a club he still loves.
A powerful safety net
Carrick, for now, has a full backroom team and a sporting structure already in place above him. Silvestre knows it. Rooney and Valencia know it too. None of them are agitating, none are campaigning.
What their words underline, though, is the strength of the bond that still runs through that era of United’s history – and the depth of support Carrick could lean on if the club ever chose to tap into it.
If the day comes when United decide they want more familiar faces shaping the future, they won’t have to look far. Some of the old guard are already waiting by the phone.
