Michael Carrick's sudden exit set to give Man Utd welcome financial boost

Michael Carrick's Manchester United departure is set to save the club a heft amount.

The 40-year-old had been in interim charge since the dismissal of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, taking the lead for three games which concluded with the win over Arsenal.

Carrick announced after the success on Thursday night that he had decided to leave the club.

Departing by his own accord means United do not have the pay out the coach the remainder of his contract, suggested Alan Shearer on Amazon Prime Video.

The Old Trafford board are already having to cough up a compensation package for Solskjaer, who had only signed an extension in the summer.

Ralf Rangnick will come in and manage the team for the remainder of the season.

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The German arrives with a wealth of knowledge and experience, but it will not come cheap. The 63-year-old is pocketing almost £8million-a-year.

Carrick's willing exit is therefore a welcome bonus to United's finances.

The former player, who signed for the Red Devils from Tottenham back in 2006, insists the decision was solely his.

"After a lot of thought and deliberation, I have decided that now is the right time for me to leave," said Carrick.

"It wasn't easy telling the players. In some ways you feel like you're leaving them in the lurch but sometimes you have to do what's right.

"I've loved working with them - they are a terrific group of players."

He also added: "It's 100% my decision. Over the last week I was conscious I respected the club and the manager coming in. I thought it was the right thing to do for the club and for Ralf. I'm quite happy with that.

"The loyalty to Ole is a little bit of a factor but there were a lot of things that came into my decision."

Rangnick, who has fielded questions from the media for the first time, admits he attempted to convince Carrick to stay put.

He added: "Michael, I got to know this two days ago. I met with Michael and Kieran, I had a long private conversation for more than an hour.

"I tried to convince him to stay, in the end, I had to accept that.

"I'm more than happy to work with the current coaching staff, I need their expertise. I will try to find two or three people that will join us in the coming weeks, but due to Brexit, it's not that easy."

Rangnick will take charge of United for the first time this weekend when they face Crystal Palace.