Lisandro Martínez launched a scathing criticism of Manchester United's hierarchy, singling out director of football Jason Wilcox over the club's summer transfer business, following Tuesday's 2-0 Champions League defeat to Atlético Madrid.
Speaking to Amazon Prime Sport after the match, a visibly frustrated Martínez did not hold back. "Really poor," he said. "Really poor. I have to control myself a lot but sometimes is a reflection of the mirror of how is our club at the moment. We did a fantastic season last season and now we expect more from the top, more players to compete because many teams bring many players as well. Atletico have an amazing team and they deserve to win today."
Asked whether he had expected more investment in reinforcing the squad over the summer, Martínez was blunt. "Yeah, 100%," he said. "I expect more from our technical director. I have to be honest, as players we have to do more but it is also important when you make a strong squad to be ready for this kind of night." He added that last season the club had "created the base to create an amazing team," calling it "annoying" and "disappointing" that his team was not fighting for a result against Atlético.
United have made a poor start to the 2026-27 season, winning just two of their opening nine matches, a sharp contrast to the back half of 2025-26 that saw Michael Carrick have the interim tag removed from his job title and be appointed permanent manager.
Despite the struggles, Martínez does not believe replacing Carrick is the solution, instead pointing toward others at the club. "I don't think so," he said when asked about the manager's position. "He does his best. Every season is different. You can't stay with what you did last season. The teams knows how you play, they know every detail, if you don't change next season is a big problem." He continued: "You can't keep changing, changing, changing the manager. What about other areas? I can't say more." He then added, "Tonight it is easy to say the coach, easy to say the players but also we have to see other areas," while gesturing upward, an apparent reference to United's leadership.
Carrick addressed the comments shortly after in his own interview with Amazon Prime Sport, saying he had not heard what Martínez said. "I think after a game like this you come here to trying and get something out of the game and we're disappointed," Carrick said. "Sometimes you can be a little bit emotional as well. I have not seen it so I don't think now is the right time for me to comment on it." He added: "I fully know we all care and we show that in different ways. But now is certainly the time to be together and work through it. We got a big a big game now Sunday and we've got to prepare for that properly."
United's Summer Business Under the Microscope
Manchester United made four first-team signings during the summer window and also welcomed back Marcus Rashford following an 18-month loan spell. The bulk of the spending went toward rebuilding the midfield, with United paying a combined $207.2 million (£155 million) for Andrey Santos, Carlos Baleba and Youri Tielemans. That trio started together for the first time in the loss to Atlético, and while the performance wasn't dominant, there was some improvement in midfield.
Beyond the midfield rebuild, the only other arrival was backup goalkeeper Karl Darlow, leaving notable gaps in defense and attack unaddressed. United pursued a left back for much of the summer, reportedly targeting Lewis Hall, but did not land a new defender in that position. Starting left back Luke Shaw has already missed time through injury, and 20-year-old center back Ayden Heaven was used to cover the left flank against Atlético.
Up front, United came closer to offloading Benjamin Šeško's backup Joshua Zirkzee than to signing a fresh alternative at center forward. Šeško is currently injured, Zirkzee has yet to start a match this season, and both Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha are generally considered better suited to playing as second strikers rather than as the focal point of the attack.
Manchester United CEO Omar Berrada had defended the club's approach to the transfer window, saying: "We have a plan, we know what we can invest, and we have to stick to that."
