Lisandro Martinez did not hold back after Manchester United's 2-0 Champions League defeat to Atletico Madrid on Tuesday night, taking aim at the club's hierarchy for a perceived lack of investment during the summer.
United went a goal down inside the first minute when Pablo Barrios opened the scoring. In the second half, Leny Yoro was dismissed with 16 minutes remaining, and five minutes later former Everton forward Ademola Lookman doubled Atletico's lead to wrap up a deserved victory.
Martinez's post-match outburst
Martinez was furious after the final whistle and did not hold back in his post-match interview. He said: "I have to control myself a lot but sometimes is a reflection of the mirror of how is our club at the moment. It is annoying, disappointing coming here and I am not seeing my team trying to get an amazing result here."
He added: "I expect more [investment], 100 per cent. 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."
Questioning manager backing
Asked if the manager had been sufficiently backed, Martinez replied: "I don't think so. He does his best. Every season is different. You can't stay with what you did last season."
He continued: "The teams knows how you play, they know every detail, if you don't change next season [it] is a big problem. You can't keep changing, changing, changing the manager. What about other areas? I can't say more."
Reaction and potential punishment
Martinez's comments immediately made headlines, and he was not the only United player left furious, with team-mate Amad describing the result as a "f****** disgrace" on social media. It remains to be seen if Martinez will be punished by the Red Devils as a result of his outspoken comments.
Wayne Rooney, who was on punditry duties for Amazon Prime, thought it was "disrespectful" for the defender to question the quality of his team-mates. He said: "The board have to look at that, and they probably have to take some action on that, because that's just disrespecting the whole football club."
Rooney added: "Yes, there's issues, everyone wants more players and better players, but this is the players you've got. As a player, you've got to get on with it. You've got to go and show why you're a World Cup winner, as I said before."
He concluded: "So, I think the board have to either come out and speak on it, or maybe he's done that to flush them out and get them to speak to the fans, but I just think it's the wrong time, and it's not going to help anyone."
