Former Manchester United forward Anthony Martial was fined £180,000 and publicly criticised by manager Jose Mourinho after leaving the club's 2018 pre-season tour of the United States to be with his partner for the birth of their second child. Martial, now 30, missed a 4-1 friendly defeat to Liverpool in Chicago and was expected to rejoin the squad for matches against Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, but instead remained in France to support his partner during her recovery.
Mourinho's public criticism
Speaking to MUTV after the Liverpool loss, Mourinho said: "He has the baby and after the baby is born - beautiful baby, full of health, thank god. He should be here and he is not here. Now we have Real Madrid, and after that we have Bayern Munich, and that is our start." Mourinho also expressed hope that other players would follow the example of Marcus Rashford and Phil Jones by returning early to help the team.
Martial's response
Martial fired back on social media, writing: "Thanks for all your posts. My little girl is fine, for the mum it was harder, but thank god she is better now. Sorry, but my family will always come first. Back tomorrow in Manchester." The £180,000 fine, equivalent to two weeks' wages, was imposed for his extended absence.
Long-standing tensions
This incident was not the only source of friction between Martial and Mourinho. In a 2022 interview with France Football, Martial revealed that their troubles began when Mourinho took charge in 2016 and gave his No. 9 shirt to new signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic without consulting him. Mourinho offered him the No. 11 shirt, which Martial initially refused, but he found it had been changed when he returned to the club. "He disrespected me, straight up," Martial said.
Martial left Manchester United on a free transfer in 2024 and now plays for Monterrey in Mexico. Current United manager Michael Carrick is preparing for his first pre-season with the club, which will only involve European travel, potentially avoiding similar issues.
