Carragher talks flannel: Man United legend blasts ex-Liverpool defender for 1999 Treble opinion

Former Manchester United striker Andy Cole has blasted Jamie Carragher for choosing Jack Grealish over Ryan Giggs in a combined team.

Cole, 51, was part of the historic United side that won The Treble in 1999, scoring 24 goals across the season that year.

With Manchester City having won the Premier League this term, they are now two games away from possibly equalling the great achievement of that United team and becoming the second-ever English team to complete the feat.

That has led to debates containing the two teams. Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville were tasked with choosing a combined XI with players from the two teams on Sky Sports.

The ex-Liverpool defender included six Man City players and only five of the Treble-winning United side. Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias, Ilkay Gundogan, Jack Grealish, Kevin de Bruyne and Erlign Haaland pipped some of United’s biggest legends.

Cole, who was also left out of Carragher’s team, says that the opinions of those who haven’t completed the feat do not affect him, although mocks the reasoning why Ryan Giggs was left out for Grealish in Carragher’s team.

“I would not change a single player out of my team for any of these current Manchester City players,” Cole told FA Cup Betting. “Otherwise, that’s me being disrespectful to my teammates, and at the end of the day, we’re still the only team to have won the treble so far.

“Manchester City spent a lot of money to get to this position, Manchester United had six homegrown players, that tells you everything. Ronny Johnsen was a fantastic player and he gets disrespected too. If he was such a bad player, why was he playing for Manchester United in one of the best central defending partnerships with Jaap Stam? People say Ruben Dias, well he wasn’t playing for Manchester United at that time and didn’t win the treble like Johnsen did. 

“There’s a perception about Gary Neville and also me that we couldn’t play in today’s game or make this Manchester City team. I don’t care because I know I achieved the treble, people can say what they want but at the end of the day, the people making these statements were nowhere near winning a league title, never mind the treble. 

“What Jamie Carragher says, it makes no difference to me. People talk a lot of flannel. You have to be in that position of success to be able to have an opinion on what’s better. Carragher put Jack Grealish in ahead of Ryan Giggs because he had more goal contributions? That says it all.”