Sportsupdated 1h ago2 min read
Lisandro Martinez Blasts Manchester United Hierarchy After 2-0 Loss To Atletico Madrid
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Martinez criticizes Manchester United's hierarchy for not strengthening squad after Champions League qualification. He called for more signings to compete, expressing dissatisfaction with transfer policy.
Martinez attacks hierarchy
Lisandro Martinez launched an extraordinary attack on Manchester United's hierarchy after the club's 2-0 Champions League loss at Atletico Madrid, telling Amazon Prime, "We expect more from the top, from upstairs, to bring in more players to compete". Martinez singled out technical director Jason Wilcox and said, "I expect more from our technical director," after United spent £155m on just four major summer signings following a third-place Premier League finish last season.
Michael Carrick faced added pressure as Martinez said, "You can't stay with what you did last season," while also pointing to other areas beyond the coach and players. Wayne Rooney later criticised Martinez's outburst on Amazon Prime, saying, "I think he has maybe gone a bit too far."
Rooney, Carrick, Tielemans
Wayne Rooney told Amazon Prime that Martinez's comments should have stayed internal, adding, "That should really stay internal." Michael Carrick said he had not seen the interview and argued that after a game, "Straight after a game for me isn't the time to talk about that interview because I haven't seen it, so I can't really comment on that."
Youri Tielemans refused to comment on Martinez's outburst when asked by Amazon's Gabriel Clarke, with the interview dominating the post-match press conference. Alan Shearer said he felt Carrick had been let down, while Paul Robinson on BBC Radio 5 Live questioned Martinez's timing because "positivity needs to come out of the dressing room."
Next match and fallout
Carrick said a big game on Sunday at Leeds required the group to move forward quickly, telling reporters, "I think there's a big game on Sunday [at Leeds]." Martinez's criticism of recruitment and squad strengthening came as United extended a winless run to five games after the Atletico defeat, and the BBC said the result left United "five games without a win."
The BBC also noted that Martinez had one year left on his United contract and had yet to agree an extension, with the club's internal tensions now set to play out publicly. Rooney framed the stakes as unity and dressing-room cohesion, warning that the interview was "not going to help" and arguing that the situation at the club needed togetherness rather than public fracture.