In the summer of 2006, Manchester United agreed a £14 million deal to sign Michael Carrick from Spurs.
Viewed as a long-term replacement for Roy Keane, who had left United six months earlier, Carrick was given the No. 16 shirt.
As Sky Sports covered the deal, they repeatedly showed a highlight reel of the midfielder’s expansive passing range and once he arrived, Carrick wasted no time in showing that he had no issue with the pressure of playing for the Red Devils.
Carrick recently confirmed that he is set to hang up his boots at the end of the season and he is expected to immediately join up with manager Jose Mourinho’s coaching staff.
He might not have been the flashiest player or scored many goals but the former England international will go down as one of the greatest passers in Premier League history
Peter Crouch played with Carrick for England and he has showered the midfielder with praise, claiming that Carrick will inevitably take his incredible football brain into the realm of management.
“The best passers of a ball I played with were Steven Gerrard and Xabi Alonso but, on his day, Michael wasn’t far behind them,” Crouch wrote in his Daily Mail column.
“He got 34 England caps and was unlucky not to win more.
“He is a clever footballer, one who you rarely see out of position. He was always calm in possession and had an ability to be in the right place at the right time; that helped dictate the pace of games.
“He understands football and I have absolutely no doubt he will be a manager in the future.”
Last year, Carrick underwent a procedure to deal with a heart condition with which he’d been suffering and while he remains United’s club captain, the 36-year-old has been forced to settle for a bit-part role this season.
He’s won quite literally everything that there is to win at Old Trafford and will go down as one of the most dependable servants to ever pull on the red jersey.
“It has been a great career,” Crouch added. “He has got all the medals to show for his efforts — a full set of domestic honours to go with both the Champions League and Europa League — but what has marked him out as being different is the time he spent at Manchester United.
“Michael signed for them in 2006 and it takes a special type of character to last that long at a club where there is so much pressure and expectation.
“I got three years at Liverpool and would have loved more, but for him to get 12 at Old Trafford highlights his mentality and ability. I started playing with Michael for England’s Under 18s and we progressed together all through to the seniors.”
