Michael Carrick Clashes With Man Utd Legend Over Lisandro Martinez
Manchester United manager Michael Carrick insisted he has no concerns about the commitment levels of under-fire defender Lisandro Martínez, who was the subject of a ferocious rant from former Red Devils midfielder Nicky Butt.
Martínez is expected to hold formal talks with club officials in the coming days to address a handful of issues after a tumultuous few weeks for the Argentine. His rant against technical director Jason Wilcox was followed by a needless red card in the 2–0 defeat to Chelsea, leaving many fans to call for his immediate exile from the team.
In the face of accusations that Martínez, whose contract expires at the end of the season but includes the option for a 12-month extension, has already decided to leave Old Trafford and is no longer committed to the club, Carrick insisted there are no such problems in the United locker room.
“I’ve got no concerns about his commitment at all,” the United boss stressed. “Things happen in football sometimes. You do things, sometimes you make your decisions, sometimes you make mistakes, sometimes it goes well for you. But the commitment is not an issue, for sure.
“The dressing room is a good, good place, so perception’s a funny thing. You can make things look in different ways and think about all sorts of things.
“I’ve said it before, the commitment of the players to the club, to me, to each other, I don’t question that at all. We need to play better. We can make better decisions, but commitment’s not a thing at all.”
Not every former United midfielder was so forgiving.
Butt: ‘Bluffer’ Martínez Deserves to Be Sold by Man Utd
Carrick’s attempts at peace-making came just hours after Butt, who played 387 games for United between 1993 and 2004, unleashed a furious tirade against Martínez over his recent conduct.
“That lad’s a bluffer, full stop,” Butt told Football Uncensored. “Just a bluffer. The Butcher, his nickname is. I mean it’s ... yeah.”
Butt took aim at Martínez for his “touchy” response to previous criticism from Paul Scholes and slammed the defender for what he perceived as a lack of effort and a sense of arrogance from a player who, in Butt’s eyes, is simply not good enough.
“He’s got the audacity to go out onto an interview and s--- off the powers that be about buying players when he’s not even playing well himself,” Butt continued. “If they were going to go and buy players, he’d be careful because he’s the first one they’d replace. Performance-wise, he’s been lacking so much.
“Listen, I was never the best player. I know my level, I know I had a lot of bad games. But one thing I did every single time I went out was ran my myself into the ground and was honest when looking at my teammates in the eye and said, ‘I gave you everything I’ve got. I might’ve been c--- today but I worked hard.’
“[Martínez] threw it in the other day [against Chelsea]. He threw it in with that elbow because that was the most obvious thing anyone could do. The reason why he did it is because he’s not strong enough to defend properly.
“He thought, ‘You know what, I’ll cut corners, I’ll cheat, I’ll put my elbow is someone’s face and I’ll get sent off and I’ll leave all the other 10 lads, who by the way I said two weeks ago that these aren’t good enough to play with me.’
“I’m getting changed in the changing room and I’m sitting next to these lads and they’re going, ‘He thinks I’m not good enough.’ If that was back in my day, he would’ve completely have had his head ripped off. Everyone would’ve said, ‘Who do you think you are talking about me like that with the performances you’re putting in?’
“Even if he was European Player of the Year, you still don’t speak like that about your teammates and your powers that be upstairs. No matter what you think behind closed doors, you don’t go and say that.
“He has now gone from—I don’t know why, I have no idea why—he’s gone from someone the fans love to someone the fans loathe and want out of their football club. He’s absolutely killed himself.”
