Jamie Carragher has criticised Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez after the 28-year-old gave an explosive interview following the club's 2-0 Champions League defeat against Atletico Madrid. The comments have prompted a big reaction from both fans and pundits, with Carragher the latest to have his say.
Martinez's post-match outburst
Martinez took aim at technical director Jason Wilcox and claimed that there should have been more investment into the squad during the latest transfer window. His remarks have drawn sharp criticism from pundits, including Carragher and Wayne Rooney.
Speaking on CBS Sports, Carragher said: "It's funny when players say that, they never talk about their own positions. Whenever a player goes 'we haven't done enough in the transfer window', he won't mean centre-back, he'll mean other areas of the pitch."
Carragher's family analogy
Carragher also referenced last season, when Ruben Amorim went for the people above him. "I said straight away he should be sacked, not just because of those comments. I was saying 'you're lucky to still be in a job, you can't be having a go at the people above you'," he said.
He added: "I think your football club's a family and there is a lot of stuff going on inside it, people are arguing, they're not happy with this. I can understand he might not be happy with the squad, or Michael Carrick not, but as a football club."
Carragher continued: "As a family, we all know with our brothers, sisters, mums and dads, aunties and uncles they'll be problems and someone who doesn't like someone and people fall out here and there, but when you go through that front door you put a united front on, you protect each other."
Rooney's premeditated claim
Carragher's comments echo those of Wayne Rooney, who also criticised Martinez for the interview. "I think Martinez was very premeditated," Rooney said.
"Why is he doing the interview after this game? Has he put himself forward, I very rarely hear him speak. It looked a bit premeditated and something he spoke about with his team to get out there. It's sad because when you need everyone to stick together as players, you can't be told what's going on above you."
Rooney added: "So you need them players, the manager, the coaching staff to stick together when you're having a difficult time; otherwise, something like that will rip a dressing room apart. I think it's a bit disrespectful to his team-mates as well because he's disrespecting his team-mates, he's saying they're not good enough. So he's saying his team-mates aren't good enough, so it's disrespectful."
Carragher concluded: "This will be the talk of the town from now, this will blow up, explode and I think he's out of order."
