Jose Mourinho was recently asked about Michael Carrick and how he has been faring at the Special One's former club Manchester United

Jose Mourinho heralded Michael Carrick for "doing well" as manager of Manchester United. The Special One offered his opinion while at the Spanish GP, not long after his Real Madrid side overcame Rayo Vallecano 4-1.

Carrick is now the United manager, nearly eight years after the Reds sacked Mourinho. While United have endured an inconsistent start to the new campaign, Carrick's excellent impact last season saw him be handed the role full-time.

Mourinho was asked to offer his thoughts on the Englishman, just before the Manchester derby between United and Manchester City kicked off. The former Chelsea boss had nothing but praise for the Englishman.

He said: "He's doing well Michael, doing well. I'm happy with that."

The Portuguese oversaw 144 fixtures as United's boss from May 2016 to December 2018. In that period, he steered the Reds to a Community Shield, Europa League and League Cup triumph.

However, following a disappointing third season at Old Trafford, he was shown the door in favour of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Mourinho has since made his return to Real Madrid and earlier this year opened up about his spell in Manchester.

The 63-year-old said: "My career at Manchester United, I know it well. I also know the reason why I ended up leaving.

"But as I always do, or try to do, when I leave a club I close the door and then I do not make comments. I do not analyse externally what happened.

"A door closes and another one will open. That is what happened when I left. The history stayed there, the numbers stayed there, the three medals came home and that is it."

For Carrick, United's opening to the 2026/27 season has proved testing. It began disastrously with a shock 2-0 away loss to Hull City, but they bounced back with a 5-2 home win over Ipswich Town.

They were seconds away from overcoming Everton at Hill Dickinson, but Ainsley Maitland-Niles' 96th minute thunderbolt secured a draw for David Moyes' side.

United got back to winning ways in the Champions League by beating Azerbaijani side 4-0 at Old Trafford. Meanwhile, Mourinho's side are second in La Liga, having won four and lost one of their opening five matches.