Martínez Blasts Man Utd Board After UCL Loss to Atlético
Manchester United defender Lisandro Martínez has delivered a scathing post-match assessment of the club’s hierarchy, accusing them of failing to strengthen the squad sufficiently after last season’s progress, following a 2-0 Champions League loss to Atlético Madrid.
Speaking to Amazon Prime after Tuesday’s defeat at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano, the Argentina international described United’s display as “really poor, really poor” and said the result was a reflection of deeper problems at the club.
“I have to control myself a lot but sometimes it is a reflection of the mirror of how is our club at the moment,” Martínez said. “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. Atlético have an amazing team and they deserved to win today.”
The centre-back went further, directly targeting the club’s recruitment efforts and technical director Jason Wilcox. “I expect more [investment]. 100%. I expect more from our technical director,” he stated. “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.”
Martínez’s comments came after goals from Pablo Barrios (after just 53 seconds) and Ademola Lookman sealed a comfortable victory for Diego Simeone’s side. The result left United without a win in five matches across all competitions and intensified the pressure on head coach Michael Carrick, who has managed only one victory in his last seven games.
Yet the defender pointedly defended Carrick and urged the club to look beyond the usual cycle of managerial changes. “You can’t keep changing, changing, changing the manager,” Martínez said. “What about other areas? I can’t say more. Tonight it is easy to say the coach, easy to say the players but also we have to see other areas.”
He added that the team could not simply rely on last season’s foundations: “He does his best but every season is different. You can’t stay with what you did last season. The teams know how you play, they know every detail. If you don’t change next season it is a big problem.”
United returned to the Champions League after finishing third in the Premier League last term. While the club invested in the summer transfer window—signing midfielders including Youri Tielemans, Carlos Baleba and Andrey Santos—the early-season results have raised questions about squad depth and quality relative to Europe’s leading sides.
Martínez’s public criticism is rare for a senior player at Old Trafford and places further scrutiny on Wilcox, chief executive Omar Berrada and the wider football hierarchy under minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who was present at the stadium.
Whether the defender’s honesty strengthens or destabilises the dressing room remains to be seen. What is clear is that Martínez believes the problems run higher than the dugout—and he is no longer prepared to stay silent about it.
