Michael Carrick spoke honestly when quizzed on Sir Jim Ratcliffe‘s recent immigration rant in Friday’s press conference. The INEOS billionaire, who owns a minority stake in Manchester United, aired his thoughts on the state of modern Britain in a recent interview with Sky News. He claimed that immigrants had ‘colonised’ the UK while making a false claim about population size over the last six years.

Ratcliffe said: “The UK has been colonised by immigrants, really, hasn’t it? I mean, the population of the UK was 58 million in 2020, now it’s 70 million. That’s 12 million people.” However, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates that the population of the UK was 67 million in mid-2020 and 70 million in mid-2024. The population figure was estimated at 58.9 million in 2000, well over two decades ago.

Carrick was asked for his thoughts on Ratcliffe’s controversial comments in Friday’s press conference and said: “Sir Jim has made a statement and then the club has made a statement. It is not my place to add to that.

“Been at this club many years and we make a huge impact globally. As a player, member of staff, supporter, I think we are incredibly proud of that. Equality and diversity is what we cherish at this club. We strive to do that every day.

“We have a really strong group. The players, the staff inside and out of the club. We always talking to each other. The boys have been in really good spirits. We have taken a deep breath, come back and focusing on what is next.

“We are here to help each other. Part of being at this club we understand what it is like globally. I can only speak from my personal experiences, all backgrounds and different backgrounds I am really proud of.”

Ratcliffe’s comments were met with widespread criticism, with Sir Keir Starmer branding them ‘offensive and wrong’ and urging the United co-owner to apologise.

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Last week, the 73-year-old said that he was sorry for any offence caused. However, he didn’t explicitly apologise for his comments, insisting that it was important to speak up about immigration.

“I am sorry that my choice of language has offended some people in the UK and Europe,” said Ratcliffe. “It is important to raise the issue of controlled and well-managed immigration that supports economic growth.”

Once matters had turned to football, Carrick provided an injury update as United prepare for their trip to face Everton on Monday night.

“Mason [Mount] is getting closer, we have to be patient with him, we don’t want to rush anything,” said the Red Devils boss. “He is getting closer. Matthijs he is working towards it, he is a little bit behind Mason.

“A lot goes into the game. David [Moyes] is such a good manager, knows what it takes to have success. We have had a lot of time to look forward to it.

“Always tough going to Everton. We are trying to be our best. We have things to improve on. A good spirit and we will draw on that.”

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