Manchester United head coach Michael Carrick has declared the Lisandro Martinez situation closed and confirmed the defender will be in the squad for Sunday's Premier League trip to Leeds United, days after the Argentina international publicly criticised the club's hierarchy following a 2-0 defeat by Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.
Martinez aimed his fire directly at director of football Jason Wilcox in a post-match interview with Amazon Prime in Madrid on Tuesday, demanding to know why the club had not recruited more players. He then appeared on CBS Sports alongside Peter Schmeichel and pressed the same point, insisting United's squad lacked the depth needed to rotate effectively across a congested schedule. "The rotation in the team, we have many games and have to rotate players. For me, we don't have the best squad," Martinez said. "For sure, when you watch the television, you see the player and the manager and you point the finger, which is right — we take responsibility — but also as a club I expect more. I'm not going to close my mouth. We need more ambition, we need to talk more about winning Champions Leagues, winning Premier Leagues."
The outburst was sparked in part by the selection of Ayden Heaven at left-back in Madrid. Luke Shaw was absent through injury, leaving Carrick without a specialist in that position. Heaven, 20, had never previously started a senior match there.
On Thursday, after talks with club leadership and Carrick, Martinez issued a public apology and was formally fined by the club. He said he had met the club's leadership and the manager for what he described as a very positive conversation, acknowledging that the frustration of the defeat had led him to express his feelings at a time and place that were perhaps not the right ones.
Carrick's response was equally straightforward. "It's done," he said, adding that the group had moved on, that Martinez had acknowledged making a mistake, and that there was a good feeling around training. The manager said it was really not a drama for the group.
Carrick also acknowledged Martinez's passion, saying he understood the emotion but that it needed to be carried in the right way — something he said had since been acknowledged.
On other injury matters, Carrick indicated Noussair Mazraoui could return having missed the draw with Tottenham and the defeat in Madrid with an injury picked up on international duty for Morocco. The manager was more cautious over Luke Shaw, Kobbie Mainoo and Benjamin Sesko, saying checks were still ongoing. Matthijs de Ligt was considered unlikely to start.
Martinez's current contract expires at the end of this season. There are doubts over whether it will be extended, and he had pushed for a move to Atletico Madrid in the summer, the side United faced on Tuesday. No suitable bid came in. United head to Elland Road having won just twice in nine outings this term, on a five-game winless run across all competitions. Wayne Rooney, Carrick's former Old Trafford teammate, warned that Martinez's comments had the potential to rip the dressing room apart — a concern the head coach sought firmly to dismiss.
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