Jamie Carragher has claimed the Manchester United treble-winning team from 1999 didn't influence European football, suggesting managers in the modern game don't look to the Sir Alex Ferguson side from that era for inspiration.
With Manchester City boosting their chances of securing an historic Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup treble on Wednesday night by beating Arsenal 4-1 at the Etihad, Carragher initially questioned whether Pep Guardiola's side would go down as one of four sides "who changed the game".
Pointing to the ways in which Guardiola is reimagining the way the game is played with his never-before-seen tactics in the current Manchester City side, the broadcaster believes it could become the cornerstone for the future of football.
Carragher also included Arrigo Sacchi's AC Milan team from 1988-1991, Johan Cruyff's 'Dream Team' at Barcelona and Guardiola's unprecedented stint in charge of Barcelona, too. He also later claimed he should've added Rinus Michels' Ajax.
The Man Utd treble team did not influence European football!!!Those other teams/managers are still talked about today in terms of influencing the current generation of managers & tactics. https://t.co/Uc8qpYpE24April 27, 2023
"If Man City win the treble or the Champions League," Carragher tweeted, "will this era of success for Pep mean his team join the great teams who changed the game?"
Fellow pundit Gary Neville took umbrage with Carragher's selected sides, though, suggesting he "missed a team out", clearly referencing the '99 Manchester United team he played in.
Carragher bit back with some stern words, arguing against them not having an affect on how modern football is played in the same way the aforementioned sides have.
"The Man Utd treble team did not influence European football," Carragher said. "Those other teams/managers are still talked about today in terms of influencing the current generation of managers and tactics."
He continued in another tweet when someone else questioned his exclusion of Liverpool's imperious side from the late 1970s and early 1980s.
"You and a lot of others don’t understand what I’m talking about," Carragher attempted to clarify. "It’s not just about success, it’s about whether that team tactically influenced future managers & teams.
"Klopp talks about Sacchi a lot. That Milan team played 30 years ago."
