The Sports Guru
Lisandro Martinez has said in public what many Manchester United supporters say in private. This piece asks whether being right is enough, and why the choice of target and moment may matter as much as the message. Read on to see what the criticism means for Michael Carrick, Jason Wilcox and a dressing room already short of wins.
A defender can be correct about his club and still hurt it. That is the problem Lisandro Martinez handed Manchester United on Tuesday night, when he followed a 2-0 defeat at Atletico Madrid by telling Amazon Prime he expected more investment from the hierarchy. The defeat left United five games without a win. Their last victory was against Sabah FK on 10 September, and the only other win in their nine matches this season came against Ipswich at Old Trafford, when they had to come from behind.
What Martinez actually said
His argument was that United had a fine season last term, finishing third in the Premier League to earn a Champions League return, and that the squad has not been reinforced to match. He said he expected more from technical director Jason Wilcox, and he was explicit about the number: "100%". He also accepted that players "have to do more" and said blaming the coach or the players was the easy option.
The sharpest line was about the manager's chair. "You can't keep changing, changing, changing the manager," he said. That lands on a club that dismissed Erik ten Hag in October 2024 and Ruben Amorim in January 2026, with Sir Jim Ratcliffe and chief executive Omar Berrada sitting together in the Metropolitano on Tuesday.
The recruitment case has substance
The reporting on the summer gives his complaint some weight. United spent £155m on three midfielders, to the exclusion of any other position. Striking support for Benjamin Sesko and competition for Luke Shaw at left-back were not addressed, and both gaps have been highlighted. Martinez's view has been echoed by many outside observers and, according to the report, mentioned by some inside Old Trafford.
My reading is that the spending pattern is the real exhibit here. Three midfield signings, including Tielemans at £35m from Aston Villa, is a defined plan. It is also a plan that left forward and defensive depth thin. Whether that was bad judgement or constrained circumstances is not something the evidence settles.
Why the timing costs him
Wayne Rooney was blunt. "Something like that will rip that dressing room apart," he said on Amazon Prime. He called the comments disrespectful to team-mates, said Bruno Fernandes is the only player with the right to speak like that, and described the interview as "very premeditated". Rooney also said he regretted his own public criticism of the club in 2010. Ashley Young argued Martinez should have kept his counsel, warning of possible issues through the week, though he framed that as a risk rather than a certainty.
Paul Robinson split the difference on BBC Radio 5 Live. He questioned the timing, with so much noise around United, yet said he "actually quite like" a player being honest. That is the cleanest summary of the dispute: the content has defenders, the delivery has few.
There is also a personal wrinkle. Martinez has a year left on his contract and has not agreed an extension. Rooney read the interview as a player looking after himself. That is Rooney's interpretation, and Martinez has offered no such motive.
Carrick, Wilcox and the pressure shift
Carrick won 12 of his 17 games as interim coach, which earned him a permanent two-year deal. Five winless games have changed the mood. Asked about the interview, he said he had only "half heard" about it, called it a product of the emotions of the game, and said he needed to find out more before deciding whether any action was needed. He also said he did not doubt the group's togetherness.
The BBC's Simon Stone writes that Martinez's words will bring renewed focus on Wilcox, whose appointment as football director is starting to be questioned. Analytically, that is the more consequential shift. A player naming a director publicly changes how the next poor result is read, and it makes the recruitment brief a matter for scrutiny as well as the coach's selections.
Context adds to the pressure. United's overall debt stood at £1.1bn in their latest accounts, and some fans criticised the £63.5m spent on land for a new 100,000-capacity stadium that is set to cost in excess of £2bn. Those are the arguments Martinez did not make, but they sit behind the reaction he invited.
The unresolved question is whether the board answers with activity or with discipline. Either way, a manager under intense pressure now has a dressing room conversation to manage before the next fixture.
Frequently Asked Questions
He said he expected more investment and more from technical director Jason Wilcox, and argued that changing managers repeatedly is not the answer.
They are five games without a win. Sabah FK on 10 September and Ipswich are their only wins in nine matches this season.
He said he had only half heard about the interview and needed more information before deciding whether to act. He also said he did not doubt the squad's togetherness.
He has one year left and has not agreed an extension. Rooney suggested the interview looked self-serving, but that is his view, not an established motive.
Research: This article uses the archived evidence supplied for this story. Story inspiration: BBC Sport's original report.
