Veteran Manchester United star Michael Carrick has spoken out about the differences involved in playing for the likes of Manchester United, West Ham and Tottenham.
Carrick started his career with the Hammers and after his talent was made visible, he was introduced to the first team by Harry Redknapp.
After 150 appearances for the East London club, he was sold to Tottenham for £3.5 million. Following two seasons at White Hart Lane, Carrick established himself as one of the best players in the Premier League and moved to Manchester United for £18.5 million in 2006.
He has had a successful spell with the Red Devils winning five Premier League titles, an FA Cup, three League Cups, six Community Shields, the Champions League, Europa League and Club World Cup.
During an interview with Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson, Carrick touched on the differences that he has encountered playing for the clubs and said: “The difference I found was that it was relentless. Everyday was relentless, every day was just relentless. Training sessions were genuinely tougher than the games.
“Once you hit that standard, there’s a little bit of give, but you can’t go win one, draw one, lose one, win one and get away with that whereas maybe when I was at West Ham or Tottenham – especially away from home – you go away from home and you’re thinking ‘We got a draw today, that’s a decent result that we’ll win one and it’s not bad’. At Man United that can’t happen.”
