Hidden motive behind Lisandro Martinez rant revealed as Man Utd admit mistakes

A senior journalist at the BBC claims there’s a hidden motive behind Lisandro Martinez publicly denouncing Manchester United, while the club have accepted they got the last transfer window horribly wrong.

Martinez chastised Jason Wilcox, United’s director of football, in an emotionally-charged interview with Amazon Prime on Tuesday night.

The Argentine bemoaned the club’s lack of ambition in the transfer market too, claiming the current United squad is not fit for Champions League football.

Predictably, Martinez’s comments have gone down well with the bulk of Man Utd’s fanbase who are still to be convinced INEOS and the word competent should ever be used in the same sentence.

Many feel Martinez is voicing what the fans can’t, while The Athletic state the defender is not alone in United’s dressing room in feeling the way he does about Wilcox and the handling of the club.

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But according to the latest from the BBC and their chief football news reporter, Simon Stone, there may be a hidden motive behind the outburst.

Lisandro Martinez ranting to engineer early Man Utd exit?

Stone stated: ‘Martinez said he felt it was important to speak out the way he did. Many United fans are delighted he went down that path, and the defender was highlighting inadequacies in the club’s leadership structure.

‘However, there are a couple of other basic realities.

‘The first is that Martinez’s contract expires at the end of the season. United have the option to extend it by another year.

‘By being so outspoken against senior figures at the club, was he trying to ensure that option is not triggered, which would allow him to leave for nothing in the summer, or, potentially, for a lower fee in January?

‘Martinez is good friends with Atletico Madrid defender Cristian Romero and the international colleagues spoke after last night’s game. Romero was similarly forceful against the Tottenham hierarchy last season.’

The Guardian reported earlier on Wednesday that Martinez now ‘plans to leave’ Man Utd.

Essentially, he may have said what he said in order to engineer an early exit from United, and by publicly stating what many fans think, he’s ensured he won’t be blamed for the club’s inevitable failings this season.

Man Utd admit they fumbled summer window

In any case, Stone’s report for the BBC also brought news of Man Utd internally admitting they got the last transfer window painfully wrong.

Three midfielders arrived, with an overhaul in central areas the primary focus. However, two of the midfielders – Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos – are not athletic and struggle to get around the pitch. That is a particular problem when playing two-man midfields, which Michael Carrick does.

Furthermore, no left-back arrived to take the pressure off Luke Shaw, nor did a striker arrive to compete with Benjamin Sesko.

Stone added: ‘The club’s recruitment department is working on potential targets for January given it is accepted the strategy of not signing left-back competition for Luke Shaw and striking support for Benjamin Sesko was flawed.’

Stone concluded his report by stating: ‘During the summer, BBC Sport was told by dressing room sources the club needed to sign more players than the three – Andrey Santos, Youri Tielemans, Carlos Baleba – who eventually arrived, and it was “fairly obvious” where they needed to be – left-back and striker.

‘Another source with extensive knowledge of the inner workings at Old Trafford describes the current situation as “a mess”.’