Man United chiefs consider options after Lisandro Martinez's bombshell takedown of their transfer policy - with defender's contract set to expire in eight months

Manchester United bosses are considering how to respond to Lisandro Martinez’s bombshell television interview, with the players having a day off on Wednesday.

The United squad flew back from Madrid straight after Tuesday night’s 2-0 Champions League defeat to Atletico at the Metropolitano following Martinez’s outburst in which he accused the Old Trafford board and director of football Jason Wilcox of failing in the transfer market last summer.

Teammate Amad Diallo added more fuel to the fire with a message on social media which read ‘f***ing disgrace, I have no words’, although it’s unclear what the Ivorian was referring to.

The players were given the day off after arriving home in the early hours of the morning, which is usual after a night game. Martinez is due back at Carrington on Thursday as United begin their preparations for Sunday’s clash with Leeds at Elland Road.

United have to decide what action – if any – to take against the Argentina defender over his comments. Ruben Amorim was sacked as head coach in January after publicly criticising Wilcox, although it is highly unlikely the club would take such a drastic approach with Martinez.

He is out of contract at the end of June but United can extend it by another year or offer him new terms. They would be reluctant to let a 28-year-old World Cup winner leave as a free agent five years after his £48.5million move from Ajax, and could trigger the extension so they can demand a transfer fee for him.

Martinez took aim at the United hierarchy in the wake of a fourth defeat in nine games in Madrid when he was asked if the club have backed head coach Michael Carrick enough. ‘I don't think so,’ he said. ‘He does his best. You can't keep changing, changing, changing the manager.

‘What about other areas? Tonight it is easy to say the coach and easy to say the players, but also we have to see other areas.

‘I expect more (investment) 100 per cent. I expect more from our technical director. 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.

‘I have to control myself a lot but sometimes is a reflection of the mirror of how is our club at the moment.’

United are likely to need Martinez at Elland Road on Sunday with a number of injuries in defence. Luke Shaw, Patrick Dorgu and Noussair Mazraoui have been out of action, and Matthijs De Ligt only returned on the bench as an unused substitute in Madrid after nearly a year out with a back injury.