Lisandro Martinez is set to be included in Manchester United’s squad for Sunday’s trip to Leeds United after apologising for publicly criticising the club’s hierarchy.
Head coach Michael Carrick said the matter had been settled and insisted United had “moved on” following the defender’s comments about director of football Jason Wilcox and the club’s lack of investment in the transfer window.
Martinez met Wilcox, chief executive Omar Berrada and Carrick on Thursday, two days after United’s 2-0 defeat by Atletico Madrid. He apologised for the public nature of his outburst.
“He’s released his statement and realised he made a mistake,” Carrick said. “That’s enough for us to move on with. From our point of view, the acknowledgement of what’s been done is enough to move on.”
Former United players Wayne Rooney and Gary Neville questioned the potential impact of Martinez’s remarks on the dressing room, but Carrick said the squad had been affected only minimally.
“As a group we’ve moved on,” he said. “It’s really not a drama for the group. The squad have trained really well and they are in good spirits.”
Carrick added: “We understood the situation. Licha understood he made a mistake. We have a really good feeling from the club. Results-wise it hasn’t gone our way, but the spirit and togetherness, we can see in the group we want to do something with this situation.”
“We’ve moved on. Genuinely. There is a freshness about the group.”
Doubts over Lisandro Martinez’s Manchester United future
Despite his expected return to the squad, there are doubts over whether Martinez’s contract will be extended when it expires in the summer. United have the formal option to prolong his stay by a further year.
The club are expected to focus on reshaping their defence in the next transfer windows and are looking at new centre-backs and left-backs. There is understood to be no internal pressure on Wilcox regarding his position.
Martinez has been keen to leave Old Trafford for some time and pushed for a move to Atletico Madrid during the summer. No suitable bid was received for United to consider.
The 28-year-old made similar comments about his bosses while at Ajax in 2022, when he described sporting director Gerry Hamstra as a “nobody”.
