Matheus Cunha has revealed an “impactful” part of Michael Carrick’s reign that has struck a chord with the first-team Manchester United players at Old Trafford.
Michael Carrick’s superb 16-match run as Red Devils interim head coach saw the 44-year-old club legend appointed as the permanent Manchester United manager.
The United boss was only intended to remain at Old Trafford until the end of the 2025-26 campaign after Ruben Amorim was sacked by the Red Devils in January.
But Carrick’s sensational run in the second half of the Premier League season made it difficult for Ineos to overlook the United legend’s long-term future at the club.
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Matheus Cunha shares the important message that Michael Carrick is showing to Man Utd players at Old Trafford
Michael Carrick kicked off his permanent Manchester United managerial reign on the final day of the 2025-26 Premier League season last month.
The former Middlesbrough head coach oversaw a convincing 3-0 win for Man Utd against Brighton at the Amex, with the Red Devils finishing third in the table.
Matheus Cunha, who arrived at Old Trafford under Ruben Amorim in 2025, insisted that Carrick’s affinity with Man Utd has been felt by the current crop of players.
“It’s been incredible,” he told ESPN.
“Honestly, it’s impactful. He looks at us now and you already want to have the same results he had.
“But he is someone who constantly tries to pass on that root of what Manchester is, of what it is to arrive at Old Trafford and win games, and to feel that vibration of the fans pushing you and pushing the team, regardless of what happens.”
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Matheus Cunha on Michael Carrick’s dynamic with Man Utd players during his interim and permanent head coach reigns
Carrick’s transformative impact at Old Trafford last season saw the Red Devils secure their return to the Champions League for the 2026-27 campaign.
Cunha, who has been a key United first-team player under the Red Devils boss, said that Carrick will strike a chord with his teammates in a “very emotional way.”
“He jokes a lot because Manchester [United] has to have a different adrenaline to play, we have to play by risk,” he continued.
“And I think that’s very beautiful, especially to bring back those moments of glory […] to rescue that period that he knows so much about, that he participated in so much.
“I think that he brings it to us in a very emotional way, to be very sincere, that it touches us so that we are also slowly placing the pebbles in our castle so that we can build it too.”
Cunha left Wolves in 2025 and the 27-year-old Brazilian forward netted 10 times and registered four assists in 35 matches for Man Utd in his debut season at the club.
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