Matthijs de Ligt's extraordinary manager curse has continued after Manchester United legend Michael Carrick was sacked on Thursday morning following weeks of major pressure on his job. Carrick and his staff were axed by executives Omar Berrada and Jason Wilcox after a meeting with co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe in Monaco to seal his fate, while United negotiated a deal with Mauricio Pochettino to replace him.
Carrick's exit extends De Ligt's streak
Carrick's exit means Pochettino is set to become De Ligt's 12th permanent manager in 10 years, and the Dutchman has never played under the same manager for two complete seasons. De Ligt's back injury has kept him out of action for the best part of a year, and his return to action was brief and not enough to help save Carrick.
The centre-back, still only 27, made his senior debut under Peter Bosz in the 2016/17 season at Ajax, but he only played 23 games under his compatriot after Bosz left to take up an ill-fated role at Borussia Dortmund. Bosz was at the Amsterdam giants for just one season, winning 36 of his 56 games in charge as they finished 2nd in the Eredivisie to Feyenoord. He only lasted until December at the Westfalenstadion after winning just eight of his 24 games at the helm, and has since managed Bayer Leverkusen and Lyon before returning to the Netherlands with PSV Eindhoven in 2023, where he has won the league title three years in a row.
From Ajax to Juventus and Bayern
After Bosz left, Marcel Keizer replaced him at the Johan Cruyff Arena. De Ligt played 40 games under Keizer during his time at the senior team and Jong Ajax, but Keizer was sacked before Christmas after losing a cup match to FC Twente. Then came Erik ten Hag, who De Ligt became incredibly familiar with. The future United boss took charge in January 2018 and guided Ajax to another 2nd place finish before the club enjoyed one of their greatest seasons in decades, winning the Eredivisie crown in the 2018/19 season as the team of Frenkie De Jong, Hakim Ziyech, Donny van de Beek and co heartbreakingly missed out on the Champions League final, being beaten by Pochettino's Tottenham and Lucas Moura's hat-trick heroics.
That proved to be De Ligt's final campaign at his boyhood club as he completed a £67.8million switch to Juventus, playing under Maurizio Sarri and being a crucial part of the defence which won the Serie A title. However, Sarri was sacked after just one season after they failed to go far in the Champions League, losing to Lyon in the last-16. Club legend Andrea Pirlo stepped up from the U23s manager, but the Pirlo punt was largely a failure as they finished 4th, although they won the Coppa Italia. A poor league campaign where they squeezed into the Champions League spots on the final day and another last 16 exit, this time to Porto, saw Pirlo sacked.
De Ligt's time in Munich and Manchester
Massimiliano Allegri was appointed as the sixth manager of De Ligt's career, but the campaign ended in disappointment again as Juventus lost control of their stranglehold on Italian football, again finishing 4th and heading out of the Champions League in the round of 16 to Villarreal. De Ligt was among the Juventus players to make the most appearances that season, but he pursued a move to Bayern Munich in the summer of 2022 for £65.6million. Had he remained at Juventus, he might well have broken the curse as Allegri remained as Juve boss, but their fall-off was completed by a 7th place finish, and Allegri wouldn't be sacked until the end of the 2023/24 season.
De Ligt was instead in Munich, playing under Julian Nagelsmann as he lifted a third league title in a European league as Bayern overcame a rough spell under Nagelsmann to hire Thomas Tuchel and pip Borussia Dortmund to the Bundesliga crown on the final day. De Ligt played the most games of any defender at the club that year. Tuchel remained in charge during the 2023/24 campaign, becoming only the second manager De Ligt played under during two different seasons, but not for a complete campaign. However, that season proved to be Tuchel's last before he took up the England job as Bayern could only finish 3rd, behind runaway champions Bayer Leverkusen and Stuttgart. De Ligt also struggled with injuries for the first time in his career during that season as a knee problem limited his involvement to just 22 Bundesliga games.
After Vincent Kompany arrived at the end of that season, the club decided to cash in on De Ligt and he made the move to the fourth club of his career, back to Ten Hag at Old Trafford, in a £42.9m deal in 2024. De Ligt's first season in Manchester was hugely tumultuous with Ten Hag lasting only until October, then caretaker Ruud van Nistelrooy until Ruben Amorim walked through the doors in November and took the club to 15th in the league. The Dutchman was absent through injury for the nightmare run of form at the end of the season, where United picked up just two points in seven games, also missing the Europa League final defeat to Tottenham.
Pochettino's challenge
De Ligt returned to fitness for the start of the 2025/26 season, but a back injury sustained in November ruled him out of action for over a year. Amorim was axed just over a month after he was first placed on the injury table. Carrick arrived days later and guided the club to 3rd in his absence, earning the job permanently after United finished the campaign with the best points total over the second half of the season. De Ligt completed his return in October as injuries and suspension forced him to play in the 4-1 defeat against Como. He is yet to play in the league this season after being an unused substitute in the four previous games, and appearing as a late substitute to help see through the comeback win against Roma. Having never really suffered injuries bar his final season at Bayern before arriving at United, De Ligt played just 81 minutes under Carrick.
While he's back in the squad, Pochettino, who is moving closer to becoming United boss, will be hoping the centre-back can return to action, but will be praying that De Ligt's manager curse doesn't continue and he is allowed ample time to turn United around and build towards success in the future.
