Video: Paul Scholes clarifies Carrick dig and lifts lid on their private conversation | OneFootball

Manchester United legend Paul Scholes has backtracked on his recent dig at Michael Carrick, insisting that he approached his former teammate to clear the air.

Scholes’ bizarre Carrick comment

Carrick has enjoyed a fantastic start to life since he was named Ruben Amorim’s temporary replacement in December last year, but he was brought down to reality last week as he was handed his first defeat by Newcastle.

Despite Jacob Ramsey’s red card handing them a man advantage, United failed to make it count as they fell to a 2-1 loss at St James’ Park.

The Red Devils struggled to match Newcastle’s physicality and intensity, and it was evident after the final whistle that Carrick was far from happy with the performance. Scholes compounded matters by appearing to revel in Carrick’s misery on social media, adding salt to the wound.

Scholes wrote on Instagram, “Michael [Carrick] has definitely got something special about him… because United have been crap last four games.”

The remark earned Scholes widespread criticism, with many condemning it as distasteful. He later deleted the post, but it has remained a major talking point for the past few days. Former England striker Gary Lineker suggested that there may be some underlying tension between the pair.

Now, Scholes has set the record straight. Speaking on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast, Scholes stressed that his intention was not to dig out Carrick, but to praise him. He also confirmed that the pair had since discussed the matter.

Scholes clears up controversy

Scholes said, “It was in no way intended to be offensive towards Michael.”

“Michael is one of the nicest people you will ever meet in football. He’d be the last person I would want to offend. I messaged Michael earlier. I went straight to Michael and said, look, I was never intending to upset you.”

“And I don’t think I needed to say that. And he told me himself he wasn’t upset by it. I think people have just taken it differently from what was meant. The only thing I was saying was that I don’t think they played that well the last four games, and he’s still managing to get results.”

He continued, “We had the greatest manager in the world, and he always said, sometimes you need a bit of luck. So we’ve sent him off, some different things that happen through the games. Sometimes you do need a bit of luck. That’s all I was saying.”

“I was not saying he’s just a lucky manager. I was saying he’s a fairly talented manager because he’s getting results with a team that, for the last four games since the West Ham game, I didn’t think was playing very well. That’s all.”

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Carrick and his players return to action on Sunday when they host Aston Villa at Old Trafford.

Featured image Carl Recine via Getty Images

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