Scholes Stands Firm as Feud with Martinez Intensifies
Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes has declared he will not apologise to defender Lisandro Martinez after mocking his physical stature ahead of the recent Manchester Derby. The war of words between the pundit and the player continues to escalate, with both sides refusing to back down in a public spat that has captivated football fans.
Podcast Jokes Spark Controversy
On their podcast before United's impressive 2-0 victory over Manchester City, Scholes and his former teammate Nicky Butt joked about the anticipated matchup between Martinez and City striker Erling Haaland. They suggested the height difference between the 5ft 9in defender and the 6ft 5in forward was such a mismatch that Haaland would simply pick up Martinez and throw him into the net.
"Haaland would pick Martinez up and run with him," Butt quipped during the broadcast. "It'll be like when you see a dad after school running down the road with a little toddler. That's what it'd be like."
Scholes added to the jest, remarking: "He'd score, then throw him in the net!"
Martinez Responds with Defiant Challenge
Following United's clean sheet victory in which Martinez helped contain Haaland, the Argentine defender hit back at the criticism. He challenged Scholes and Butt to repeat their comments to his face, inviting them to his house for a direct confrontation.
"Honestly, Scholes can say whatever he wants," Martinez stated. "I told him already, if he wants to say something to me, he can come to me wherever he wants. To my house, wherever. I don't care. I respect when they want to help the club because everyone can talk on television. But when you see them here face-to-face, no one says anything in your face."
Butt Tells Martinez to 'Grow Up'
On the latest episode of their podcast, Butt showed no signs of cooling tensions, telling Martinez to "f***ing grow up" in response to the defender's challenge. He branded Martinez as "precious" and suggested such emotional reactions were inappropriate for a player at a major club.
"For me, we talk like lads in a pub having a conversation. It's tongue in cheek," Butt explained. "If you're going to get so emotional about someone saying something about you and react like that, you shouldn't be at a big football club. I'm telling you now he's gonna get that for the rest of his career at Man United."
Scholes Refuses to Back Down
Scholes has now confirmed he will not apologise for the comments, instead urging Martinez to "deal with" the criticism that comes with being a Manchester United player. Speaking on The Overlap Fan Debate, brought to you by Sky Bet, the United legend acknowledged the phrasing wasn't ideal but stood by the sentiment.
"What we said probably wasn't great when you look back. I'm not apologising for it though," Scholes stated. "The thing we were trying to say was what we thought. Physically, it's a mismatch between Martínez and Haaland, but the way we described it wasn't great and we probably shouldn't have done that, but it was."
Previous Instagram Exchanges Revealed
Scholes revealed that he and Martinez had previously exchanged Instagram messages, during which the defender said he had "lost all respect" for the pundit after earlier critical comments. Scholes also mentioned he had sent Martinez his phone number but hadn't been contacted, despite the defender's invitation for face-to-face discussion.
"We exchanged messages on Instagram quite some time ago," Scholes disclosed. "He said he'd lost all kinds of respect for me. As Nicky said two minutes ago, you're at Man United, probably the biggest club in the world. At some point, as we did as players, you are gonna take some criticism. You've got to deal with that."
Performance Criticism Continues
Despite Martinez's strong performance against City, Scholes maintained his critical stance, suggesting the defender needed to prove himself consistently over time rather than in isolated matches.
"He's had one good game though," Scholes remarked. "I hope to god he proves me wrong but look at the week before against Brighton and Danny Welbeck, or the week before that against Burnley. When you start talking or shouting your mouth off, this game has a habit of coming and biting you back on the a**e. I haven't changed my opinion yet. I'm still not sure that you can win a league with him."
Addressing 'Toxic' Narrative Claims
Scholes also responded to suggestions that he and Butt were contributing to a "toxic" narrative around Manchester United, rejecting the characterisation of their commentary.
"A lot of people have labelled that at me and Nicky for the last few days," Scholes said. "It's not something we like doing, we want to see the team winning every single week. When I played and when Jamie Carragher played, you did get a bit of criticism. It's more so now than it ever has been that people are speaking their mind, and you've got to deal with it."
The feud shows no immediate signs of resolution, with both parties entrenched in their positions as Manchester United prepare for their next Premier League challenge against Arsenal this Sunday.
