Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer have agreed thatthe Paul Scholes and Michael Carrick feud is "weird" after the former hit out at the Manchester United interim head coach on Wednesday.

Scholes fumed after the Reds lost 2-1 at Newcastle United and criticised how the team have performed in recent weeks, aiming a dig at former team-mate Carrick in the process.

In a now-deleted Instagram story, Scholes said: "Michael has definitely got something special about him... cos United have been c**p last four games... night [blowing kiss emoji]. Tonali [red love heart emoji]."

Scholes' message caused some stir on social media, with some agreeing with the 51-year-old former United midfielder, while others criticised him for dishing the blame on Carrick.

Now, Lineker and Shearer have weighed in with their verdict on Scholes' comments - and it's safe to say both agree on the matter and feel the situation is an "odd" one.

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Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast, co-host Lineker said: "You see, there’s a little bit of beef between Paul Scholes and Michael Carrick? He’s digging him out, isn’t he? He’s not exactly being very supportive of his old team-mate, is he?"

Ex-Newcastle United forward Shearer added: "It's a strange, it's weird isn't it?"

Lineker then suggested that there might be a "bit of history" that explains the rivalry between them.

"It's an odd one," Lineker continued. "It's weird, isn't it? Maybe there’s a bit of history there. Who knows?"

Micah Richards then chimed in with his response and provided a more balanced outlook. The former Manchester City and England right-back said: "I need a fact checker on that though, I don't believe it's true. Everyone is saying it's true, it has got on all the headlines from social media.

"But if he did say that, Scholesy (Paul Scholes) when you see him, he is one of the nicest guys ever and I don't think he has got any aspirations to be a coach. As an ex-teammate, I thought they had love for each-other but it was strange to say the least."

Scholes' Instagram post on Wednesday wasn't the first time the United legend has cast doubt around Carrick, who has won six and drawn one of his opening eight matches since returning to Old Trafford in mid-January.

Indeed, Scholes branded Carrick, Mike Phelan and Kieran McKenna as 'disloyal' after the trio stayed put following Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's sacking in November 2021. Although he did acknowledge that they were "good friends" Scholes didn't hold back in expressing his disapproval of their choice.

"I feel with Ole, he put a lot of trust into Michael, Kieran (McKenna) and Mike Phelan, which is why they shouldn't be at the club now," Scholes said at the time. They're all good friends and they're good people but if I was them I'd feel guilty still working at the club after Ole put so much trust in them."

When Carrick was first put into the interim position after Solskjaer's dismissal four-and-a-half years ago, he was asked about Scholes' comments. "It's been an emotional few days," Carrick said at the time. "The first person I spoke to after Ed (Woodward) offered me the role was Ole. I thought that was the right thing to do."

Having enjoyed a two-and-a-half year stint up at Championship side Middlesbrough, United decided to re-hire Carrick last month after the decision was made to axe Ruben Amorim.

Since returning, Carrick has done an impressive job. He has picked up 19 points from a possible 24 in the Premier League and has helped push the Reds up to third in the table, level with fourth-place Aston Villa.

Next up for Carrick and United is none other than Villa on Sunday, March 15.

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