‘Really poor, I have to control myself’ – Martinez criticises Man United board after Atletico defeat

Lisandro Martinez has criticised Manchester United’s hierarchy for failing to strengthen the squad after the club secured Champions League qualification, following their 2-0 defeat by Atletico Madrid on Tuesday.

The result extended United’s winless run to five matches, increasing pressure on head coach Michael Carrick and raising questions about the club’s recruitment strategy.

United finished third in the Premier League last season to secure a return to the Champions League after three years away. However, Martinez believes the club’s leadership should have invested more in the squad to help the team compete at the highest level.

“I expect more [investment]. 100%. I expect more from our technical director [Jason Wilcox],” the defender told Amazon Prime.

Martinez questions club’s investment

The Argentine acknowledged that the players needed to improve but argued that the squad required further strengthening to compete against Europe’s leading teams.

“Tonight it is easy to [blame] the coach, easy to say the players but also we have to see other areas,” he said.

“You can’t keep changing, changing, changing the manager. What about other areas? I can’t say more.”

United spent £155 million on three midfielders during the summer transfer window but did not bring in additional striking support for Benjamin Sesko or competition at left-back for Luke Shaw.

Minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and chief executive Omar Berrada watched the defeat at the Metropolitano Stadium.

Former United captain Wayne Rooney criticised Martinez’s decision to air his grievances publicly, warning that the comments could damage unity within the dressing room.

“Something like that will rip that dressing room apart,” Rooney said.

He added that Martinez had attempted to speak on behalf of his teammates but had handled the situation incorrectly.