Aston Villa shot-stopper Emiliano Martinez has pointed out the key differences between youngsters in England who "spend too much time on their phones" and those who grow up in Argentina
Emi Martinez in interview
Emi Martinez has ripped into the mentality of young English players by calling out their dedication and work ethic.
The Aston Villa goalkeeper, 32, was recently on international duty with his native Argentina, helping them beat bitter rivals Uruguay and Brazil. Martinez returned to his club on the weekend and helped Unai Emery’s side secure a place in the FA Cup semi-finals with a 3-0 win away at Preston North End.
The differences in the mentality of his national team camp and the 15 years he's spent in England are therefore fresh in the mind of Martinez, who didn't hold back on his thoughts during an interview over the international break.
He called out young English players for spending too much time on their phones and receiving massages instead of training. Martinez compared that to his own, very different education as a youngster back home with his youth side, Independiente.
He also compared their mentality to his fellow World Cup winners: Liverpool's Alexis Mac Allister, Atletico Madrid's Julian Alvarez and Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez.
And he claimed the players in England do not respect him as much. Martinez told Telefe: “I had the old school culture at Independiente where the young lads had to work hard.
"Back in England, the youngsters play a game and the next day they are like ‘oh, it hurts’, and spend the morning on their mobile phones and getting massages.
“I take them out of physio. I keep that [mindset] from here. I do that both here and there.
Argentina's national football team goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez (2nd R) jogs during a training session
"Over there (in England) they don’t respect me as much but I don’t care, I take them out of physio anyway. If a 19-year-old player doesn’t train, he is not going to achieve anything of what our lads here have achieved.
“Here we have 24-year-olds who are already world champions. Enzo, Alexis, Julian. And you see them here diving headfirst in training, and that shows me what is really needed at a young age.
"I wasn't a world champion at 24 or 23 years old, and they show you that they really want more, and it's lovely to be a world champion.”
Martinez has been Argentina’s first-choice goalkeeper since 2021, following his debut season with Villa. Aside from his shot-stopping and penalty-saving heroics in winning the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, he has also won two Copa Americas with the Lionel Messi-led national team.
Since winning the FA Cup with Arsenal in 2020 and signing for Villa that summer, he has gone on to make 200 appearances for the side.
The goalkeeper has 10 clean sheets this season, playing a starring role in the club's journey to the Champions League quarter-finals, where they will face PSG next Wednesday.