Lisandro Martínez publicly criticised Manchester United's hierarchy after Tuesday's 2-0 Champions League defeat at Atlético Madrid, saying he expected more summer investment and naming technical director Jason Wilcox as the players pressed for stronger recruitment.
What Martinez said
Speaking to Amazon Prime after the match at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano, the Argentina centre-back called United's display "really poor" and linked the result to wider problems at the club.
"I have to control myself a lot, but sometimes it's a reflection of how our club is at the moment," Martínez said, according to Sky Sports. "We had a fantastic season last season, and now we expect more from the top, from upstairs, to bring in more players to compete because many teams have brought in many players as well."
Asked whether he had expected more investment after United finished third in the Premier League and returned to the Champions League, he replied: "Yes, 100 per cent. I expect more from our technical director. I have to be honest. And also, as a player, we have to do more. It's also important to build a strong squad to be ready for this kind of night."
On manager Michael Carrick, Martínez said: "He does his best. But every season is different. You can't stay with what you did last season." He added that United should not keep "changing, changing, changing" managers and that "other areas" of the club also needed scrutiny — a point he underlined by gesturing upwards when pressed about Carrick's future.
Context after Atlético
The comments followed Atlético's 2-0 win, in which Pablo Barrios scored inside the opening minute, Leny Yoro was sent off after a VAR review, and Ademola Lookman sealed the result. United are winless in five matches in all competitions and have made a poor start to the Premier League season after last term's third-place finish.
BBC Sport reported that United spent about £155m on three midfielders in the summer — including Youri Tielemans — without adding striking cover for Benjamin Šeško or competition at left-back for Luke Shaw. Minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe was at the Metropolitano.
Carrick told reporters he had not seen the interview and would not discuss it immediately. "I think it's a little bit on the emotions of the game as well, coming here and being disappointed not to get something from the game," he said, according to Sky Sports. "There's a big game on Sunday, and it's really important that we move forward and we stay focused on that."
Former United captain Wayne Rooney, working for Amazon Prime, said Martínez had "maybe gone a bit too far" and that the criticism should have stayed internal, while acknowledging fans want to hear players care about the club's ambition.
What comes next
United visit Leeds United in the Premier League on Sunday 18 October, then travel to Como in the Champions League on Wednesday 21 October. The 1-1 draw with Tottenham at the weekend had already left Carrick under pressure before the Madrid trip.
For verified football coverage and free account checks, see the BetAlert database.