Lisandro Martinez fate becomes clear after heavily criticising Man Utd board

14 Oct 2026 12:35 BST
2 min read

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Lisandro Martinez will “inevitably” be fined by Manchester United for his scathing attack on the club’s hierarchy, according to The Athletic.

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The Argentina defender was heavily critical of the Red Devils’ recruitment policy in the aftermath of the Champions League defeat by Atletico Madrid on Tuesday.

Martinez took aim at United officials, particularly technical director Jason Wilcox, saying more players needed to be signed in the summer transfer window.

Lisandro Martínez did NOT hold back after United’s loss to Atletico 😬👀 https://t.co/OGo25Pzd30
— Prime Video Sport UK (@primevideosport) October 13, 2026

“We have to bring in more players to compete,” the 28-year-old told Amazon Prime. “I expect more from our technical director, I have to be honest.”

The comments from Martinez have been met positively by many United fans, who agree the club should have conducted more transfer business in the summer.

However, football pundits Jamie Carragher and Wayne Rooney have criticised the World Cup winner for not keeping his counsel at a difficult time for United.

United have won just two of their nine games this season, leading to speculation over the future of Michael Carrick, who was only named permanent head coach in May.

And now The Athletic understands Martinez will likely be sanctioned by United officials for causing a storm amongst supporters and the media.

Laurie Whitwell, The Athletic’s Manchester United Correspondent, also understands the club had the opportunity to sell Martinez in the summer.

No clubs are mentioned by The Athletic but Martinez has struggled for form and fitness since joining United from Ajax for €67million (£57m) in July 2022.

Separate report claims Martinez wants out

Martinez has less than one year remaining on his United contract and is believed to be frustrated at not being offered an extension on lucrative terms.

A separate report in The Guardian claims there are figures at United who believe Martinez has criticised the board to make it clear he wants to leave on a free next summer.

United have the option to extend his terms by an extra 12 months but there are now huge doubts over whether they will do so given Martinez’s remarks.

It remains to be seen whether Martinez will feature when Man Utd travel to fierce rivals Leeds United in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.

Man Utd are currently 13th in the table and three points behind Leeds, who have lost just once in England’s top flight this season.