{
  "id": 14201020,
  "title": "“At United, none”: Former title-winning Man United keeper Ricardo tears into Michael Carrick and squad",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/13/at-united-none-former-title-winning-man-united-keeper-ricardo-tears",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-13T12:45:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/united-none-former-title-winning-124500137.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Formal Manchester United goalkeeper Ricardo has harshly criticized the current state of the club ahead of their upcoming Champions League match against Atletico Madrid. Ricardo, who began his career at Atletico Madrid, joined Manchester United in 2002 but only made five appearances for the first team in three seasons. Ricardo recently played for Osasuna, where he spent eight seasons from 2005 until his retirement in 2013.\n\nIn an interview with Spanish newspaper ABC, the 54-year-old former goalkeeper harshly criticized the performance of his former team, currently languishing in 13th place in the league after six matches. Ricardo acknowledged that every team experiences difficult periods, citing recent examples of Barcelona and Real Madrid overcoming their challenges. However, he argued that Manchester United cannot seem to recover from their struggles since Sir Alex Ferguson left the club.\n\nRicardo elaborated on the downfall of United, stating that the club cannot find the right person to lead such a historic organization. He noted that the team started the Premier League season in the bottom half and have yet to find a suitable formula with current assistant manager Michael Carrick. When asked about the quality of United’s current squad, Ricardo dismissed the presence of any standout players, comparing the talent of United and Atletico. He said, \"there isn't a single player who’s stepped up, no franchise player to follow. Right now, if you look, there’s a goalkeeper who wasn't even playing for his national team, the Belgian Lammers.\" Ricardo added, \"there aren’t any charismatic players who can make a difference, and that makes things difficult. A new generation of talented players needs to emerge for the club to shine again. At Atlético, everyone is a top international; at United, none.\" Manchester United will face Atletico Madrid tonight at 20:00 UK time at the Metropolitano Stadium, aiming to secure a much-needed win to kickstart their season.",
  "summary": "Former Manchester United goalkeeper Ricardo has made some pointed remarks about the state of the club ahead of their match against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League tonight.Ricardo’s United ca...",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Yahoo Sports",
        "title": "Manchester United in talks with Antonio Conte to replace Michael Carrick",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/13/manchester-united-in-talks-with-antonio-conte-to-replace-michael",
        "published": "2026-10-13T07:30:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}