Jamie Carragher has described Lisandro Martinez’s criticism of Manchester United’s hierarchy as “awful”, while Wayne Rooney said the defender had gone too far and that his performances had not justified the comments.
Martinez made the remarks after United’s 2-0 defeat by Atletico Madrid, a result achieved against a side reduced to 10 men. He questioned the club’s lack of summer investment and specifically referred to technical director Jason Wilcox, saying United had not strengthened at left-back or in attack.
Carragher, speaking on CBS Sports, said Martinez should examine his own contribution after what he called a “really poor” start to the season.
“It doesn’t do anybody any good at all,” Carragher said. “I think it’s awful that he’s come out and said that right now.”
He also rejected Martinez’s description of United’s previous campaign as “fantastic”, pointing out that a manager had been sacked and the club had gone out of the cup competitions early before finishing third in the Premier League.
“They finished third because they had no cup games,” Carragher said. “The reason they finished third is Liverpool and Chelsea were that bad as well.
“Now we’re seeing the real Manchester United this season. They were awful again tonight.”
Carragher added that, although he regarded Martinez as a good player and recognised him as a World Cup winner, the Argentina defender had “had an awful start to the season”.
United spent £155m on four major summer signings after their third-place finish secured a return to the Champions League for the first time in three years. However, Martinez said he had expected more from the club.
“I have to control myself a lot, but sometimes it’s a reflection of how our club is at the moment,” he told Amazon Prime.
“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 if he had expected greater investment, Martinez 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.”
The defeat in Madrid extended United’s winless run to five games and increased pressure on manager Michael Carrick. Martinez said Carrick was doing his best, but warned that opponents had learned how United played and that failing to adapt would create “a big problem”.
Asked about Carrick’s future, Martinez looked upwards and said: “You start changing, changing, changing managers. But what about other areas?”
Rooney said Martinez’s concerns about strengthening the squad were valid, particularly in attack and defence, but criticised the way he had raised them.
“It’s for the manager, and that should really stay internal,” Rooney said. “His performances haven’t been good enough.”
The former United captain also said the comments were disrespectful to Martinez’s team-mates, adding that captain Bruno Fernandes was the only player entitled to speak publicly on such matters.
“Even then it should be behind closed doors if there are issues,” Rooney said. “That interview is not going to help the situation the club are in at the minute.”
