United’s Monaco summit faces Carrick’s future and relegation fears

Manchester United chief executive Omar Berrada and technical director Jason Wilcox will meet Sir Jim Ratcliffe in Monaco this week, with head coach Michael Carrick’s future set to dominate the agenda as the club, ten games into the 2026/27 Premier League season, sit in the bottom three with only one win.

There is also a strong likelihood that the meeting will address drafting a contingency plan for relegation, given United’s poor start to the campaign. Minority owners INEOS arrived at Old Trafford promising elite operating standards and a clear structure, yet the side has been dragged into a survival battle for the second consecutive year.

Relegation plan under discussion

The prospect of dropping to a lower division remains a taboo for a club of United’s size and commercial footprint, but a recent warning from north London underscores the risk of complacency. Tottenham Hotspur chief executive Vinai Venkatesham said on The Sports Agents podcast that Spurs were planning for the future after flirting with disaster last season.

Venkatesham explained that he formed close relationships with people such as Igor Tudor and Thomas Frank, describing the latter as a complete gentleman. Spurs ultimately secured survival on the final day, and Venkatesham admitted the club had quietly mapped out a blueprint for the Championship.

Man Utd draw up fresh plan that could save Michael Carrick ahead of crunch Monaco meeting

He added that preparing for relegation was essential and that failing to make a plan would have been irresponsible, noting that the traumatic experience bonded the squad and fired up everyone to avoid a repeat. That brush with the drop motivated Spurs to spend £300 million on summer transfers, including £100 million on Sandro Tonali and £85 million on Matheus Fernandes.

Venkatesham said the club aligned on strengthening a position and that Matheus Fernandes was the number‑one target, and he praised the achievement of landing many top targets. He also admitted frustration at Tottenham’s sluggish start to the 2026/27 season, acknowledging they did not expect immediate results or a low league position during the international break.

Spurs example shapes United’s approach

The article suggests that Venkatesham’s transparency should remove any delusions of grandeur for Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Omar Berrada and Jason Wilcox, as precedent shows stature and revenue offer little protection once a club falls into the bottom three. Whether Manchester United decide to back Michael Carrick through the November break or sack him, the decision‑making trio at the Monaco summit cannot treat relegation as an unthinkable scenario.

The summit may involve re‑thinking squad wage‑reduction clauses or auditing broadcast‑revenue drop‑offs as part of responsible governance, and the piece warns that pretending to be too big to be relegated is the quickest route to actually going down.