It’s become the norm for Manchester United legends to take aim at the current squad at Old Trafford. That was the case when Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt ridiculed Lisandro Martinez ahead of the Manchester derby.
The iconic duo mocked the Argentine defender’s size and suggested Erling Haaland would pick him up and throw him. The 28-year-old put in one of his best performances of the season, keeping Haaland quiet in a 2-0 win over Manchester City.
Martinez has become a key man in Michael Carrick’s side since the English coach replaced Ruben Amorim in mid-January. His impressive displays have helped the Reds go nine games unbeaten in the league.
Dalot on hatred fuelling Martinez
The comments made by Scholes and Butt weren’t the first time the Argentine has been targeted by former Manchester United players. His five-foot-nine-inch frame has been under scrutiny ever since arriving at the club from Ajax for £48.3m in July 2022.
Martinez prefers to do his talking on the pitch, and that’s exactly what Diogo Dalot expected from his teammate. He was asked by Rio Ferdinand how the 2022 World Cup winner reacts to such criticism.
Dalot told Ferdinand on Rio Meets:
“Licha, this gives him more energy. He’s like ‘haha, okay’. In the week, he was very calm, really relaxed and you see how he played the next game against City.”
Scholes has refused to apologise to Martinez, although he acknowledged that the words he used “probably weren’t great.” The former Red Devil and longtime teammate Butt feel modern-day players should get used to taking such stick as they did back in their playing careers.
Martinez’s performances in recent weeks have proven a point to the United legends. He has forged a formidable partnership with Harry Maguire, keeping two clean sheets in Carrick’s five games in charge thus far.
Carrick full of praise for ’emotional’ Martinez
The relationship between Carrick and Martinez is strong, judging by both individuals’ comments about one another since the change in manager. There were reportedly issues between the Argentine and the former coach Amorim, which even led to a bust-up in the dressing room.
Martinez’s dedication hasn’t gone unnoticed by Carrick. He spoke of the importance of playing with emotion following the 2-0 win over Manchester City in the Manchester derby last month (via ESPN):
“You have got to play with feeling, emotion, excitement. It is something we speak about. The tactical and technical side is one thing, but what we have just touched on is totally something else.”
He added
“The boys have been there in training and in games, meetings and everything around the place. They have been there in everything we have asked of them, with everything we have asked.”
Carrick named Martinez as a perfect example:
“Licha has epitomised that with how he has gone about every day and certainly in the games.”
Martinez is often seen galvanising his teammates during training sessions released by the media team. He is an extremely important player on and off the pitch.
