Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane has accused Lisandro Martínez of shifting attention away from the team’s poor performances by publicly criticising the club’s hierarchy.
Keane spoke after the Argentine defender questioned United’s recruitment strategy following their 2-0 Champions League defeat to Atlético Madrid on Tuesday, a result that extended the club’s winless run to five matches.
Describing the situation at Old Trafford as chaotic, Keane said Martínez should have examined his own performances before speaking out against the club’s leadership.
“I think as a reflection of the club, it’s obviously chaos there, like a bit of a circus,” he said on The Overlap podcast on Thursday.
“When you’re going through a difficult spell like United are, the issue I have with certain players saying things is you always have to start with the man in the mirror before you start coming out with all these comments,” the former midfielder added.
Martínez had expressed frustration over what he considered inadequate investment in the squad despite the club’s return to the Champions League. He also questioned technical director Jason Wilcox’s recruitment decisions.
The defender later took to social media to explain that his remarks had been driven by “anger and frustration”.
Keane, however, questioned whether Martínez had established himself as a senior figure in the United dressing room, arguing that the defender should focus on improving his own performances.
“I don’t see him as a senior player at Manchester United. I see him as a centre-half who’s making lots of mistakes,” Keane said.
Former United defender Gary Neville also criticised Martínez’s comments, warning that they could cause resentment among his teammates.
Neville argued that the remarks could be interpreted as suggesting that players already in the squad, including captain Bruno Fernandes and Harry Maguire, were not good enough.
“If I were Harry Maguire or Bruno Fernandes, or any other senior player, I would be absolutely fuming with him,” Neville said, adding that the comments could be taken to mean that the club needed to bring in better players.
Martínez’s outburst has added to scrutiny of United’s recruitment, leadership and performances as pressure mounts on the club to arrest their poor run.
United are scheduled to face Leeds United in the Premier League on Sunday as they seek to turn their fortunes around. The defender’s current contract expires at the end of the season, although the club have the option of extending it by another year.
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