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Manchester United defender Lisandro Martínez has criticised the club’s hierarchy for failing to strengthen the squad sufficiently during the summer transfer window following their 2-0 defeat to Atlético Madrid in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday.
The Argentina international defended manager Michael Carrick, arguing that the club’s recruitment strategy should also be scrutinised rather than holding the coach and players solely responsible for the team’s disappointing results.
According to ESPN, Martínez specifically challenged United’s director of football, Jason Wilcox, to invest more in the squad to improve the club’s ability to compete against Europe’s top teams.
Martínez demands greater investment
Speaking to Amazon Prime after the defeat in Madrid, Martínez described the performance as poor and expressed frustration with the club’s current situation.
“Really poor. Really poor,” he said.
The defender explained that United had enjoyed an impressive previous season and expected the club’s management to strengthen the squad to maintain its competitiveness.
“We did a fantastic season last season and now we expect more from the top, more players to compete because many teams bring many players as well,” Martínez said.
He acknowledged Atlético Madrid’s quality, admitting that the Spanish side deserved the victory. However, he insisted that United needed more investment to compete effectively in demanding European fixtures.
“Atlético have an amazing team and they deserve to win today. But I expect more \[investment\]. 100%. I expect more from our technical director \[Jason Wilcox\],” he added.
Martínez also admitted that the players needed to improve their performances but maintained that building a stronger squad was essential to achieving better results.
Defender questions focus on manager
The Argentine international questioned the repeated tendency to blame managers whenever a club experiences poor results, arguing that other areas of United’s management should also face scrutiny.
“You can’t keep changing, changing, changing the manager. What about other areas?” he asked.
He added that it was easy to blame the coach and players after a disappointing performance, but insisted that the club’s wider management structure should also be examined.
Martínez maintained that the foundation established during the previous season should have been strengthened to help United compete more effectively at the highest level.
“It is annoying, disappointing coming here and I am not seeing my team trying to get an amazing result here,” he said.
United reportedly spent about £150m on new signings during the summer, considerably less than some of their Premier League rivals, according to ESPN.
Carrick responds to criticism
The defeat added to the pressure on Carrick, with United having lost three of their last five matches against Atlético Madrid. The manager had also won only one of his previous seven games, increasing concerns over the team’s form.
Reacting to Martínez’s comments, Carrick said he had not watched the interview and declined to offer a direct assessment of the defender’s remarks.
“I haven’t seen it. After a game like this you come here to try and get something from the game and you are disappointed and can be emotional,” Carrick said.
Despite the disappointing result, the manager insisted that his players remained committed to the club and determined to turn their fortunes around.
“As a group, I don’t doubt the togetherness or their wanting to win. Looking at the results, you could be saying it’s deeply wrong, but that’s not been the case,” he said.
Carrick added that the players had been eager to secure a positive result against Atlético Madrid, insisting that the immediate priority was for the team to remain united and work together to improve its performances.
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