Manchester United sack Michael Carrick in relegation zone and line up Mauricio Pochettino's $10m clause as Crystal Palace axe Pierre Sage

Manchester United sacked head coach Michael Carrick on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026, with the 20-time English champions sitting 18th in the Premier League relegation zone, as Old Trafford chiefs moved toward triggering U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino’s $10 million release clause.

Key facts from Thursday’s Premier League managerial upheaval

• Historic Old Trafford dismissal: Carrick, 45, was relieved of his duties at Carrington shortly after 10:15 a.m. GMT Thursday—making 2026 the first calendar year in Manchester United’s 148-year history in which the club has sacked two permanent managers, following Ruben Amorim’s January exit.
• Coaching staff cleared out: Assistant head coach Steve Holland and first-team coaches Jonathan Woodgate and Jonny Evans also departed alongside Carrick.
• Relegation-zone form: United sit 18th in the Premier League table—one point behind 17th-placed Coventry City—with just 1 win in 10 league matches (against Ipswich Town in August), 3 wins in 15 games across all competitions, and 17th place in the Champions League league phase.
• Top target and release clause: United have reached advanced framework discussions with United States men’s national team head coach Mauricio Pochettino, whose U.S. Soccer contract carries a $10 million (£7.5 million) buyout clause ahead of United’s trip to Liverpool after the November international break.
• Premier League double sacking: Roughly one hour after United confirmed Carrick’s exit, Crystal Palace also dismissed head coach Pierre Sage, turning the November international window into a twin top-flight dugout shake-up.

Why did Manchester United sack Michael Carrick just six months after extending his contract?

Carrick’s dismissal marks a dramatic reversal from last spring, when the former United midfielder took over from Ruben Amorim in January 2026, steadied a fractured dressing room to secure a third-place Premier League finish, and was rewarded in May with a permanent contract running through 2028.

That momentum evaporated almost immediately once the 2026–27 campaign kicked off. Since beating newly promoted Ipswich in August, United have gone winless across nine consecutive Premier League fixtures. A chaotic 4-4 home draw with Aston Villa was followed by a 3-0 defeat against Bournemouth, a 2-0 loss away at Chelsea, and a humbling 4-1 Champions League defeat away to Italian side Como that left supporters openly mutinous.

As detailed after United’s emergency leadership summit in Monaco earlier this week, co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, chief executive Omar Berrada, and sporting director Jason Wilcox concluded alongside the Glazer family on Wednesday that Carrick could not survive the November international break—drawing sharp criticism from club legend Peter Schmeichel and the Manchester United Supporters’ Trust (MUST) only for waiting this long to act. Carrick departs as the eighth permanent or interim manager to leave Old Trafford since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.

How much is Mauricio Pochettino’s USMNT release clause and when could he take charge?

Unlike previous mid-season sackings that forced United into protracted caretaker spells, Berrada and Wilcox waited to pull the trigger until succession talks were firmly advanced. Multiple UK reports Thursday confirmed that Mauricio Pochettino—long admired by INEOS leadership—emerged ahead of Newcastle United’s Eddie Howe and Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann as Old Trafford’s priority appointment.

Pochettino’s contract with the U.S. Soccer Federation includes a $10 million (approximately £7.4 million to £7.5 million) release clause, a manageable fee compared with the compensation packages United previously paid to hire and dismiss Erik ten Hag and Amorim. Framework terms between United intermediaries and Pochettino’s camp are already in final-stage negotiations as the Argentine weighs an immediate return to Premier League management during the international break—timed right as European international heavyweights including England and Spain prepare for November fixtures.

United’s hierarchy want their new head coach on the Carrington training pitch next week ahead of one of English football’s sternest possible baptisms: a Premier League trip to Anfield to face arch-rivals Liverpool on Sunday week.

Why did Crystal Palace also sack Pierre Sage on Thursday?

Less than an hour after Manchester United’s announcement dominated British sports bulletins, Crystal Palace added to the Premier League’s November cull by parting company with French tactician Pierre Sage.

Palace’s hierarchy opted to use the same two-week international pause to reset their own survival push after a sluggish autumn run left the South London club hovering dangerously close to the bottom three alongside United. With two Premier League vacancies opening within 60 minutes on Nov. 12, rival sporting directors across England and Europe now face an accelerated scramble for available top-level coaches before domestic action resumes on Nov. 21–22.