Carragher brands Lisandro Martinez's Man Utd hierarchy rant 'awful' as Rooney calls it disrespectful

Martinez launches extraordinary attack after Atletico defeat

After Manchester United's 2-0 loss to Atletico Madrid with 10 men in the Champions League, defender Lisandro Martinez launched an extraordinary attack on the club's hierarchy, criticising the lack of summer investment in the squad.

Martinez claimed he expected more from "upstairs", singling out technical director Jason Wilcox, after a transfer window in which United failed to improve their options at left-back and up front.

"I have to control myself a lot, but sometimes it's a reflection of how our club is at the moment," Martinez 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 whether he had expected more investment in the squad in summer, Martinez said: "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."

Carragher: "I think it's awful"

Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher told CBS Sports the comments were damaging and that Martinez should look at his own form.

"It doesn't do anybody any good at all, and they will be the story now for the next few days all about this. Every set of supporters don't like the suits or the guys upstairs, so United fans will lap this up and think it's great. I think it's awful that he's come out and said that right now. I do."

Carragher rejected Martinez's claim that United had a fantastic season, pointing out a manager was sacked last term and that their third-place finish came with no cup commitments and weak rivals.

"They finished third because they had no cup games. They got knocked out of the cup competitions very early. 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."

He also criticised the Argentina defender's own start to the campaign.

"And him as well, when he's talking at the start of this season - I think he's a good player, by the way, he's a World Cup winner, I get that - he's had an awful start to the season. Awful. Really poor."

Martinez has made five Premier League appearances in the 2026-27 season without scoring or assisting, according to a FotMob snapshot taken on October 13.

Rooney: Comments are "disrespectful" to team-mates

Former Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney, speaking to Amazon Prime, agreed Martinez had gone too far and said the outburst undermined his colleagues.

"I think he has maybe gone a bit too far. That's for the manager, and that should really stay internal. The fans want to hear the players speak; they want to hear the players care, so you can clearly see he cares and he wants the team to invest more money, and more players, and to do that he is probably one of the players who is out the door through his performances. His performances haven't been good enough."

Rooney added that only captain Bruno Fernandes might have any right to speak out, and even then behind closed doors.

"Bruno (Fernandes) is the only one who has any right to come out and say anything like that as captain. And even then it should be behind closed doors if there are issues, which does happen. Players have conversations with the manager, the manager has conversations with the board, but that interview is not going to help the situation the club are in at the minute."

He also warned the comments were "a bit disrespectful to his team-mates" because Martinez was effectively saying the squad is not good enough.

Pressure builds on Carrick

Tuesday's defeat extended Manchester United's winless run to five games, piling pressure on boss Michael Carrick. Martinez pointedly shifted blame away from the manager, looking upwards when questioned about Carrick's future.

"You start changing, changing, changing managers. But what about [moves his eyes upwards] other areas?" Martinez said, before adding: "Because also tonight it is easy to say the coach, it is easy to say the players, but also we have to see other areas."

United spent £155m on just four major summer signings after a third-place Premier League finish last season, which earned a return to the Champions League for the first time in three years.