Lisandro Martinez has put his Manchester United career on the line with a bombshell rant at the club's board, but he will walk away the winner whatever comes next.
The Argentine defender's extraordinary criticism of the Old Trafford hierarchy followed the miserable 2-0 Champions League defeat to Atletico Madrid, turning a frustrating night into complete turmoil at the club.
Just months ago United finished the campaign with the best return of any club in the top-flight under Michael Carrick's interim time in charge, but a run of poor results has left United 13th in the Premier League.
Rant over lack of investment
Carrick's job is on the line just two months into the campaign, and the dressing room is now split with mutiny afoot.
Martinez risked his United career by berating his employers for their lack of investment in the summer. Having finished third and returned to the Champions League, United were outspent by all three of the newly promoted clubs, and the impact of the failure to sign at least a left-back and a striker is already clear.
The 28-year-old said: "Really poor. Really poor. 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 (investment) from the top, more players to compete because many teams bring many players as well. Today, Atletico have an amazing team and they deserve to win today.
"I expect more [investment]. 100%. I expect more from our technical director [Jason Wilcox]. 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."
Martinez's warning to the hierarchy
Martinez continued: "In general. Last season we did everything, we created the base to create an amazing team. It is annoying, disappointing coming here and I am not seeing my team trying to get an amazing result here. It's disappointing.
"You can't keep changing, changing, changing the manager. What about other areas? I can't say more. Tonight it is easy to say the coach, easy to say the players but also we have to see other areas."
Martinez is right about how Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his assembled team of 'specialists' have neglected to invest, and their project is already crumbling around them.
However, Martinez is no martyr for the renaissance of United. He is in a win-win position.
A win-win position for the defender
Either United attack the January transfer market and he is hailed as a leader by fans for tipping sense and action into an idle ownership.
Or he leaves as a free agent in the summer and has the pick of clubs and a fat payday – something some United fans would claim is a tyrannical move from a board who don't want to be spoken negatively about, when in fact he and his team would be jetting off to find out which club will double his £120,000-per-week wages.
United's next major transfer business will come in defence, and Martinez is ultimately in the firing line for someone who can be easily cashed in on.
The first name on the teamsheet for one of the worst defences in the league is certainly not enough to secure his future, and he is a popular player abroad through everything he has done with Argentina, despite three injury-hit seasons in a row.
Martinez is not a victim of a lack of investment from upstairs; he is a player underperforming and one of the first at risk in the summer, even if he had not launched this tirade at the board.
