Manchester United are set to offer Michael Carrick the job on a permanent basis but Rene Meulensteen is not convinced that Red Devils chiefs have gone about the decision the right way

Rene Meulensteen has claimed that Manchester United have taken too long to make a decision over Michael Carrick’s future. The former midfielder was appointed on a deal until the end of the season in January.

He has impressed since then, leading the Red Devils to ten wins in 15 games to secure a Champions League spot. That form has led United chiefs to put Carrick right at the front of the queue when it comes to the permanent job and talks are expected to accelerate imminently.

But Sir Alex Ferguson’s former right-hand man, Meulensteen, believes that call should have been made a long time ago to allow planning for next season and beyond to begin. Speaking to BOYLE Sports, he said: “If you are making such an important decision about the future of the club, you should never let the emotions of winning or losing a game influence you.

“By this time, the conversation should have already been held. If I were the CEO or the person responsible for hiring or not hiring Michael Carrick, I would have already spoken with him.

“I would have said, ‘Listen, Michael, present me with the plan. How do you think you’re going to make Manchester United a title challenger next season, not in two or three years, but next year? What do we need to keep? What do we need to add? And how are you going to go about it?’ Those conversations should have already taken place.”

He added: “The one thing that counts for Michael Carrick is that he’s played for the club, he knows what it is to be in a successful environment and culture, and he knows what is expected from Manchester United.

“He carries himself well, and the players respond really well. But on the other hand, he hasn’t managed Manchester United throughout a Champions League campaign, and he hasn’t won any trophies as a manager yet. And that’s constantly the debate people will have.

“But the most important thing for the hierarchy of Manchester United, in my opinion, is to listen really carefully to the key players in that squad at this moment in time. Listen to them, listen to how they felt Michael has done over the last period that he took over. I’m sure they will all be very positive because it shows in the results and the performances.

“So, that is the way to go about it. If it goes wrong again, just because of the fact that if you were to lose or not win both of the last games, then suddenly people go, ‘Well, you know…’ It’s a bit of a catch-22, but those conversations, in my opinion, should have already been held, and that decision behind the scenes should have already been made.

“That should have been clarified to Michael: ‘Brilliant, well done. We put you in as an interim, but this is where it stops. We’re going to go for X, Y, Z.’ Or, ‘Michael, we put you in as an interim, but you’ve done a fantastic job. You’ve convinced us that you know where we want to go. We’re going to give you another year or two years.’”

Carrick will be aiming to round the season off positively over the coming weeks. The Red Devils take on Nottingham Forest at Old Trafford this weekend ahead of a final day clash with Brighton.

Madonna, Shakira and K-pop megastars BTS will headline a Super Bowl-style half-time show at the World Cup final on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, FIFA said Thursday.

Coldplay’s Chris Martin is curating the show, which is a first for a football World Cup final but has raised concerns about how long half-time will be.

The biggest-ever World Cup, with 48 teams, kicks off on June 11 in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino announced in March last year that there would be “the first-ever half-time show at a FIFA World Cup final”.

He did not say at the time who would be performing or how long the show would last.

“This will be a historic moment for the FIFA World Cup and a show befitting the biggest sporting event in the world,” he said on Instagram.

The move mirrors the show held during the final of the 2024 Copa America in Miami, when Colombian star Shakira performed at half-time at the Hard Rock Stadium.

There was also a half-time show at last year’s FIFA Club World Cup final, also at MetLife Stadium, which stretched the break in excess of the regulation 15 minutes.

Infantino added that FIFA also planned to “take over” New York’s Times Square on the final weekend of the World Cup.

The half-time extravaganza will support FIFA’s Global Citizen Education Fund, an initiative working to raise $100 million for children worldwide during the World Cup.

Shakira last week teased the new official song for the World Cup, releasing a brief video of the track filmed at Brazil’s iconic Maracana Stadium.

In the 67-second video, Shakira appears on the pitch at the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro, where she performed in a free concert at the city’s Copacabana Beach before two million people.

Holding the “Trionda”, the official match ball of the 2026 World Cup, Shakira performed excerpts of the song in English, joined by dancers dressed in the colors of teams including the United States and Colombia.

The song was produced with Nigerian artist Burna Boy and is set for official release on Thursday. The clip, also shared by the FIFA World Cup account, ends with the message: “We’re ready!”

Shakira has a long association with the World Cup, performing at the 2006 and 2014 World Cup finals in addition to producing “Waka Waka” for the 2010 tournament.

AFP

Yoweri Museveni has been sworn in for his seventh term as President of Uganda on May 12, 2026, at the Kololo Independence Grounds in Kampala, following his victory in the January 2026 elections.

Recall Museveni won with 71.65 percent of the vote, defeating his main challenger, 43-year-old Bobi Wine, who received 24.72 percent of the vote, according to the official results.

The 81-year-old leader took his oath for another five-year term, continuing his tenure as one of Africa’s longest-serving leaders.

Museveni, born 1944 in Mbarra district area of Uganda has served as president since 1986.

He started his education in 1953 at Kyamate Boys School, then joined Mbarara High School in 1959.

After his family’s migration from Ntungamo in 1960s, then within the British Protectorate of Uganda, he was admitted to Ntare School in 1961.
He studied political science from the University of Dar es Salaam where he initiated the University Students’ African Revolutionary Front.