Lisandro Martínez Criticises United Hierarchy After Atletico Defeat

Lisandro Martínez delivered a pointed attack on Manchester United’s hierarchy and director of football Jason Wilcox after the side’s 2-0 Champions League defeat to Atlético Madrid. The loss marked a fourth defeat in nine games this season and increased the pressure on manager Michael Carrick.

Martínez defended Carrick while arguing that the board had not given the manager and players enough support in the transfer market. United spent £163 million on new signings in the summer. Asked whether Carrick had been properly backed, Martínez said: “I don’t think so. He does his best. You can’t keep changing, changing, changing the manager. What about other areas? Tonight it is easy to say the coach and easy to say the players, but also we have to see other areas.”

He continued: “I expect more [investment] 100 per cent. I expect more from our technical director. I have to be honest, as players we have to do more but it is also important when you make a strong squad to be ready for this kind of night. I have to control myself a lot but sometimes is a reflection of the mirror of how is our club at the moment. We did a fantastic season last season and now we expect more from the top; more players to compete because many teams bring many players as well. We created the base to create an amazing team. It is annoying and disappointing coming here and I am not seeing my team trying to get an amazing result.”

Former United striker Wayne Rooney criticised the comments as disrespectful to teammates, particularly the summer signings Carlos Baleba, Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos. “If you’re Baleba or Tielemans, you’re going to want to speak to Lisandro as it’s disrespectful to them,” Rooney said. “Only Bruno can come out and say that. It looks like a player trying to look after himself. It’s sad because you need players to stick together or something like that can rip the dressing-room apart.” Tielemans declined to comment when asked about Martínez’s interview.

Carrick was cautious when questioned about the remarks. “I think it’s a little bit the emotion of the game,” he said. “I need to find out a bit more about it before I can say if and what is going to be done. As a group, I don’t doubt the togetherness. But the boys are hurting. They’re passionate, they want to do well, they’re definitely hurting.”