Carrick is under pressure after United collected just six points from their opening six Premier League matches. Their difficult start continued with a 1-1 draw against ten-man Tottenham, leaving the head coach facing scrutiny ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League meeting with Atlético Madrid.
Butt, who encountered Carrick during his time coaching at United, said they had discussed the prospect of management before Carrick took charge at Old Trafford.
“I was with Michael before he got the Man United job and spoke to him about management,” Butt said on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast.
“He went, ‘No, it’s not for me, it’s too much, my head’s all over the show, I’d only do it for the big job. The big job is Man United.’”
Butt believes the opportunity to manage the club Carrick represented so successfully as a player made the decision difficult to resist.
“So because that club’s gone to him he’s naturally going to go and do it,” he said.
“I think when he’s gone through that door, put aside last year because, like Scholesy said, that’s totally different to this year, I think he’s realised he’s gone into a club that’s different to the club that he knew and was at.”
Butt added that former Manchester United players would find it difficult to turn down the chance to manage the club, regardless of any reservations about the job.
“These lads won’t turn down Man United. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wouldn’t turn it down. Roy Keane might never turn that down. When that club comes calling and you’ve been at that football club, you don’t turn it down.”
Carrick has defended his team’s prospects despite their domestic difficulties. Speaking before the Atlético match, he said challenging periods could reveal which players were fully committed to the club.
“I love this part of sometimes when it’s not quite going for you, you see who’s really there in the group, players, the squad, who’s really there and who wants to be there in the long-term,” he said.
“The supporters are there, they’re desperate for it, and we’ve got to give them something.”
Carrick added that he believed United could work through their current problems, but results will determine whether that confidence is justified. The Atlético fixture presents an immediate test as he attempts to steady a side struggling to find consistency in the Premier League.