Paul Scholes claims he did not mean to offend former Manchester United teammate Michael Carrick after taking a swipe at the Old Trafford interim boss on social media.
Responding to United's 2-1 defeat at Newcastle in the Premier League last Wednesday, Scholes took to Instagram to point out his old team's run of disappointing performances.
"Michael has definitely got something special about him, because United have been c**p last four games," Scholes wrote on Instagram.
It was a first defeat for Carrick since he replaced the sacked Ruben Amorim in January.
United have climbed to third in the Premier League and are challenging for Champions League qualification after going unbeaten in Carrick's first seven matches prior to the Newcastle loss.
Scholes played alongside Carrick in United's midfield for seven years and another of their old teammates Patrice Evra criticised Scholes' comments, saying he hoped he "was hacked".
Scholes, speaking on 'The Good, The Bad and The Football' podcast with former United colleagues Wes Brown and Nicky Butt, tried to bury the hatchet with Carrick on Monday.
🚨 🎥 Paul Scholes explains his controversial Instagram story about Michael Carrick. 🔴pic.twitter.com/bYXVRHexwO
— SimplyUtd (@SimplyUtd) March 9, 2026
"Michael is one of the nicest people you will ever meet in football - he'd be the last person I would want to offend," the former England star said.
"I messaged Michael anyway. I went straight to Michael and said, 'Look, I never intended to upset you.' And I don't think I needed to say that anyway, and he told me himself he wasn't upset by it.
"I think people have just took it differently from what was meant. The only thing I was saying was that I don't think they played that well the last four games, and he's still managing to get results."