Gary Neville believes Manchester United’s dressing room descended into players “launching it” at one another after Lisandro Martinez publicly criticised the club’s hierarchy.
Martinez named sporting director Jason Wilcox after United’s Champions League defeat by Atletico Madrid last Tuesday, claiming the board had not shown enough ambition in the latest transfer window.
Amad Diallo then posted a photograph of himself at Old Trafford with the caption: “fing disgrace, I have no words”. It is unclear whether the Ivory Coast forward was referring to United’s performance or Martinez’s comments.
Neville, United’s former captain, said Diallo’s post suggested there had been significant tension within the squad before Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Leeds at Elland Road.
“If you think about Amad Diallo’s Snapchat, was it a ‘you’re an effing disgrace?’ Well, that’s at his team-mate,” Neville said on his Sky Sports podcast.
“So, they’ve both they’re obviously launching at each other. I think he’s got a bit about him, Amad, to be fair.
“So has Martinez. Martinez has got something about him. He’s gone rogue, but so’s Amad. ‘What you shout, you know, I mean, you’re a fing disgrace’ type thing. And I think that’s what’s happening here. That’s the dynamic.”
Neville said the confrontation could ultimately benefit manager Michael Carrick by forcing a response from a squad in need of a reaction.
“Well, that can only be a good thing for Michael Carrick because you’re looking at it and thinking it needs something. It needs somebody to sort of start fighting back. It needs something to cause a moment of… he needs something. He needs a rocket up it.
“So, yeah, maybe that’s the turning point. Maybe Lisandro Martinez has done the best motivational speech that he’s ever done for Manchester United on Tuesday night. Maybe he’s done them a favour.”
Carrick cleared Martinez to play after the incident and both he and Diallo started against Leeds. The manager had said on Friday that the squad had “moved on” and was in a positive mood following a “fantastic” training session.
However, United could only draw at Elland Road, extending their winless run to six matches before Wednesday’s Champions League meeting with Cesc Fabregas’ Como.
Martinez’s interview also suggested that United’s squad did not possess enough quality to challenge for trophies. Wayne Rooney said immediately afterwards that the comments risked damaging an already fragile dressing room.
“I think it’s a bit disrespectful to his team-mates as well because he’s disrespecting his team-mates, he’s saying they’re not good enough,” Rooney said on Amazon Prime.
“I think Bruno is probably the only one who has any right coming out and saying something like that, if I’m being honest as captain. And even then it should be behind closed doors.”
Asked whether Carrick had received sufficient backing after Atletico Madrid’s 2-0 win, Martinez said: “I don’t think so. He does his best. You can’t keep changing, changing, changing the manager.”
He added that United needed greater investment and more from their technical director, saying the club should have recruited more players after “a fantastic season last season”.
