Manchester United’s dressing room unrest has exploded into the open again — and once again, director of football Jason Wilcox is in the firing line. After the 2-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid, defender Lisandro Martinez launched a stunning public attack on the club’s leadership, declaring: “I expect more from our technical director.”
(Credits: BBC Sport)
Working as a post-match interviewer for US broadcaster CBS, legendary former United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel tried four times to steer Martinez away from criticizing the club’s summer transfer window. Each time, the Argentina defender refused to be deflected. “We don’t have the best squad at the moment compared to other top teams,” Martinez said. “I’m not going to close my mouth. We need more ambition. If we don’t say the truth, nothing will change.”
Echoes of the Amorim Fallout
It is almost 10 months since Wilcox was last in the line of fire, when Ruben Amorim’s explosive post-match news conference at Leeds — triggered by Wilcox subtly advising him to change tactics for the Wolves game — led to the manager’s sacking less than 24 hours later. “I will do my job and every department, the scouting department, the sporting director, needs to do theirs,” Amorim said that night.
Now history is repeating itself with a player rather than a manager doing the firing. Martinez may have fumbled the job title, but there was no doubt who he meant — and, sources say, he knew exactly what he was saying.
The Contract Question
There is another layer to this. Martinez’s contract expires at the end of the season, with United holding an option to extend it by a year. By going public against senior figures, was he trying to ensure that option is not triggered — opening the door to a free transfer next summer or a cut-price move in January? The defender is close friends with Atletico’s Cristian Romero, who went down a similar path against the Tottenham hierarchy last season.
Internally, the comments are a headache for Michael Carrick, who must now manage a delicate dressing room dynamic while trying to end a run of five games without a win — starting with Sunday’s trip to Leeds. Dressing room sources told BBC Sport over the summer that the club needed more than the three signings that eventually arrived — Andrey Santos, Youri Tielemans and Carlos Baleba — with left-back and striker identified as obvious gaps.
When Tielemans was asked about Martinez’s outburst by Amazon Prime, he offered a telling “no comment.” Given the comments were about recruitment, he might fairly ask Martinez directly: did you mean me?
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Source: BBC Sport — read the full story there.