Man Utd decide on Lisandro Martinez’s punishment as player he wanted Sir Jim Ratcliffe to sign is revealed
Manchester United think it’s very likely that Lisandro Martinez will get fined for his comments after Tuesday’s 2-0 Champions League loss to Atletico Madrid, reports say.
In an interview with Amazon Prime, Martinez openly criticised United’s technical director Jason Wilcox and said the club didn’t do enough to support manager Michael Carrick during the summer transfer window.
He’s not the only player unhappy with United’s lack of ambition in signing new players. More details have come out about why Martinez spoke out and what might happen next.
According to The Athletic, people inside the club believe it’s “inevitable” that Martinez will be fined for what he said about senior club figures. They also think his chances of staying at United beyond this season are very slim. His contract ends this summer, and the club hadn’t started talks about a new deal before the interview anyway.
Sky Sports adds that Martinez’s future at United is “in doubt.” The club is looking for new centre-backs and left-backs, and those in charge are feeling both angry and confused about what Martinez said. It’s even said that one unnamed teammate challenged him about his comments on the way home.
Another interesting point is about Martinez trying to bring a new player to United last season. He reportedly wanted his fellow Argentinian Emiliano Martinez to join the club and even spoke directly to minority co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe about signing the Aston Villa goalkeeper. Instead, United signed Senne Lammens as their new first-choice goalkeeper.
People are still debating how to view Martinez’s interview along with his recent performances. He scored an own goal in a 1-1 draw with Fulham before the international break and struggled to stop a late goal in the 1-1 draw against Spurs. But since missing the first Premier League match of the season, he’s played every minute in the league and Champions League for Carrick’s side.
In his Amazon Prime interview with Gabriel Clarke, Martinez said: “The performance was really poor. I have to control myself a lot. But sometimes it’s a reflection of how our club is right now.
“We had a fantastic season last year, and now we expect more from the top to bring in players to compete. Other teams bring many players, too. Atletico has an amazing team and deserved to win.”
When asked if he expected more investment during the summer, Martinez replied: “Yes, 100 percent. I expect more from our technical director. We, as players, have to do more, but it’s important to have a strong squad ready for nights like this.
“Last season we built a base for an amazing team. It’s annoying and disappointing to come here and not see my team trying to get an amazing result. It’s disappointing.
“I don’t think Carrick got enough support in investment. He does his best, but every season is different — you can’t do the same as last season. Other teams learn your style, and if you don’t change, next season is a big problem.
“Changing managers all the time won’t fix everything. It’s easy to blame the coach or players, but we have to look at other areas too.”