Michael Carrick has confirmed this will be his last season as a player at Manchester United.
The midfielder has revealed it is “likely” he will join Jose Mourinho’s coaching staff in the summer.
He has been restricted to three starts after undergoing a heart procedure in September and the 36-year-old, who arrived from Tottenham Hotspur in 2006, will hang up his boots at the end of the campaign.
The Old Trafford club captain told a news conference on Monday: “There comes a time, whether you like it or you don’t like it, that your body tells you it is time to stop playing football. That’s pretty much where I’m at. It’s something that you have got to accept.”
Mourinho has said he would be keen to add Carrick to his first-team coaching staff and the former England international admits there is a good chance he could be on the bench from next season.
He added: “It’s kind of been sorted out, but we’re still talking about it so there is nothing to totally confirm yet. It’s looking likely.
Carrick has played a limited role for United this season after undergoing a routine heart procedure following a League Cup tie with Burton in September.
He has since started FA Cup games against Yeovil and Huddersfield and, ahead of the Champions League round-of-16 second leg with Sevilla at Old Trafford on Tuesday, he insists he is keen to play a part on the pitch between now and the end of the season.
He said: “I had a problem during the Burton game during the second half. I had a few tests after that and the same problem came back on the Sunday of that week in training.
“I had the procedure the following week. It took a little while to get over. There were some times there, two or three days, when I wondered whether I would carry on playing or not, is it worth it or not?
“But that quickly passed and I got back fit. I wanted to finish on my own terms so I was determined to get back fit.
“I’ve been training hard and we’ll see what happens for the rest of the season.”
