Wayne Rooney believes two of Manchester United's summer signings, Youri Tielemans and Carlos Baleba, will want answers from Lisandro Martinez following his scathing post-match comments about the club.
Martinez criticised United's decision-makers in an interview after Tuesday's 2-0 Champions League defeat to Atletico Madrid, accusing the club of failing to back manager Michael Carrick in the transfer window. He also directed criticism at technical director Jason Wilcox.
Martinez's explosive interview
'I expect more [investment], 100%. I expect more from our technical director [Jason Wilcox],' Martinez said. '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. Last season we did everything, we created the base to create an amazing team.'
United signed three midfielders this summer in Andrey Santos, Tielemans and Baleba, with Karl Darlow joining as a back-up goalkeeper. Despite the need for a centre forward and a left-back, no further additions arrived before the window closed.
Rooney's reaction
Rooney, who himself questioned United's ambitions during a contract stand-off in 2010, viewed Martinez's comments as 'disrespectful.' The former captain believes current skipper Bruno Fernandes should have been the one to speak out, and that the players recruited in the criticised window will be unhappy.
'If you're Baleba or Tielemans, you're going to want to speak to Lisandro as it's disrespectful to them,' Rooney told Amazon Prime. 'Only Bruno [Fernandes] 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 was asked about Martinez's comments on the night, telling Amazon Prime: 'I've got no comment on that.' Asked if emotions were running high in the dressing room, he added: 'Yeah, maybe. I don't know.'
