Carrick still has a major role to play says Giggs
MICHAEL CARRICK revelled in his £1m charity testimonial yesterday but former team-mate Ryan Giggs believes the midfielder still has a key role to play at Manchester United.
An astonishing crowd of 70,027 saw a United 2008 team draw 2-2 with Carrick’s own All-Stars line-up.
The 35-year-old even scored a late equaliser to cap a perfect day that raised cash for his own charity foundation.
Record goalscorer Wayne Rooney played most of the match, in what could prove to be his last outing in a United shirt.
Pleasure
But after Jose Mourinho recently awarded Carrick a new one-year contract, Giggs believes his ex-team-mate can still play a big part at Old Trafford.
Giggs said: “Michael just makes players around him play better. He’s got that calming influence that you can see on and off the pitch. It’s a pleasure to play with him.
“When you play with players, you want to trust them when they have the ball and Michael is one of those players. When he is ® on the pitch, you can trust him. He always makes the right decision.”
Carrick, who has been at United for 11 years after joining in an £18.6m move from Tottenham, also made a touching gesture to those affected by the Manchester Arena terrorist atrocity.
The United star invited some of the victims’ families, as well as 300 emergency service personnel who helped in the aftermath of the terrorist attack two weeks ago.
Carrick said: “The game had extra significance, after what has happened, in the light of last week.
“I can’t thank everyone enough for coming along. When you put on something like this it can be very daunting.
“But I couldn’t have expected anything like this. It is amazing.”
The United 2008 side twice came back from a goal down to clinch a draw.
Nemanja Vidic’s first-half header cancelled out Gaizka Mendieta’s opener before Carrick’s 82nd-minute blast levelled Robbie Keane’s second goal for the All-Stars.