Rooney lobbying Man Utd to appoint manager who is not Ratcliffe’s preferred candidate | OneFootball

Wayne Rooney wants Manchester United to appoint Michael Carrick as the permanent manager, but the Red Devils legend could be disappointed as the club’s co-owner, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, is considering Sir Gareth Southgate.

Carrick was appointed the Man Utd interim manager in January until the end of the season.

Under the former England international midfielder, Man Utd have gone from strength to strength and look set to finish in the Premier League top five this season.

Carrick played with Rooney for Man Utd and England, and, according to The Sun, the latter has been lobbying for the 44-year-old to get the managerial role at Old Trafford on a permanent basis.

Rooney ‘has lobbied for United to appoint Carrick as head coach on a permanent basis’, according to the report.

It has added: ‘Carrick and Rooney were team-mates for nine years and the former was invited to Rooney’s 2008 wedding to wife Coleen.’

Rooney has also publicly backed Man Utd co-owners, INEOS, to give the managerial role to Carrick on a permanent basis.

The former England international said about Carrick earlier this month: “100% he should [get the job].

“I have said this. I knew this was going to happen with Michael Carrick.

“I know him very well. I know his character, his personality.

“It needed a calm head, but someone who knows the place and the players needed some love, and he has given them that.

“We have seen the players play with more quality, more together as a team, and they look like a very strong team.

“For me, why would you change?

“He has got the best winning percentage of any Manchester United manager after that many games.

“For me, he has to get the job.”

Michael Carrick faces Gareth Southgate competition for Man Utd job

While Carrick is one of the candidates to get the Man Utd managerial role on a permanent basis, Sir Jim Ratcliffe fancies Sir Gareth Southgate.

The Man Utd co-owner has long admired Southgate, and TEAMtalk has reported that Ratcliffe is still keen on the former England manager.

Southgate is without a managerial role at the moment after resigning as the England manager in July 2024.

The 55-year-old was successful with England, who reached the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup, the final of Euro 2020, the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup and the final of Euro 2024 under him.

However, in November 2025, Southgate said that he was not looking to get back into football management.

Southgate on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I’ve had one of the most incredible jobs in football, which also had a higher purpose because it was my country.

“That’s going to be very hard to replicate. Having had 37 years in football, I’m enjoying finding other areas where I think I might be able to make a difference.”