Manchester United centre-back Lisandro Martinez has publicly criticised the club's hierarchy, accusing them of lacking ambition and questioning their summer recruitment strategy. His comments followed Tuesday night's 2-0 Champions League defeat by Atletico Madrid.
Former United captain Roy Keane reacted to Martinez's remarks by describing Manchester United as a "circus" and noting the "chaos" at Old Trafford. Speaking on The Overlap’s Stick to Football podcast, Keane stated that the club appears chaotic "from the top to the bottom."
Gary Neville, another former United captain, suggested that Martinez's interview amounted to a direct attack on his team-mates. Neville believes senior players like Bruno Fernandes and Harry Maguire would be "absolutely fuming" with the comments, interpreting them as a suggestion that some current players should be replaced.
Martinez aimed his criticism at director of football Jason Wilcox and the United board during an interview with Amazon Prime. This outburst occurred amid the club's worst start to a league season since 1986. Martinez issued a statement on Instagram on Wednesday to address the situation. Sky Sports reported that the 28-year-old was challenged over his comments by at least one player on the flight back from Spain, with his views reportedly shared by some frustrated team-mates.
Manchester United has not yet publicly responded to Martinez's remarks. Martinez could face potential internal sanctions and an uncertain future at the club.