The criticism of Lisandro Martinez is not only unjust – it lacks crucial context around his journey.
Following Manchester United can at times be more like a soap opera than a football team. Over the past few days we have had both.
United’s 2-0 win over City under Michael Carrick was the main event, with the unseemly spat between Lisandro Martinez, and former stars Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes.
Lisandro Martinez pointing upwards for Manchester United.
Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images
There was no fault at all with Martinez. He was targeted for unfair criticism ahead of the game, with Scholes and Butt mocking his size.
They both claimed he would get ‘carried’ into the net by opposition striker Erling Haaland, ignoring Martinez’s almost pristine record against the striker, which now stands at six clean sheets in seven games – including a Cup Final.
Instead of choosing to apologise to the defender, the pair doubled down and blamed Martinez for getting upset by his comments, ignoring that most of the upset came from Manchester United fans.
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Paul Scholes and Lisandro Martinez have reignited their feud after the Manchester derby…
Lisandro Martinez comments made towards Paul Scholes after the Manchester derby.
Credit: Getty Images.
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Martinez criticism lacks crucial awareness
Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes certainly did not come across as a particularly well-informed or aware duo while issuing their critique of the United defender.
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What the pair failed to consider was that just 11 months ago, Martinez suffered a torn ACL that left him mentally shaken as well as physically impacted.
Martinez gave an interview a week prior to the Manchester Derby, speaking to AFA Estudio in Argentina, explaining that he had felt like giving up on football altogether.
The defender explained: “To tell you the truth, I didn’t want to play football anymore.
“Because I’d already suffered a foot fracture, now this knee injury, and I said, ‘That’s it, I don’t want to know anything more about it.’”
After support from friends and family, Martinez quickly turned around his mindset, noting that it was far from easy.
“You feel pain and you think you’ll never play football again. A mental and physical imbalance, and honestly, when I think about it now, I say, ‘I don’t know how I did it.’”
Martinez fought back to symbolically make his return at the end of November 2025 against Crystal Palace, the same team he suffered the injury against in early February.
He has been an ever-present in the matchday squad too, showing what he was capable of in the win over City.
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Martinez first choice in competitive centre-back group
The shift in tactics following Ruben Amorim’s sacking to a more orthodox back four has changed the dynamic at Manchester United.
It means that United have very healthy internal competition with Harry Maguire, Leny Yoro and Ayden Heaven all competing with Lisandro Martinez for two places. Soon enough, Matthijs de Ligt will return from injury and get added to the mix.
At the weekend, Michael Carrick valued the experience of Martinez and Maguire, and the pairing did not let him down.
Martinez demonstrated why he was so highly regarded with a magnificent performance to shut Erling Haaland down.
All of this is made so much more impressive considering the context of the defender’s awful injury, and the mental turmoil that came with it.
Butt and Scholes are carrying on as if Martinez is in the midst of a normal year, completely ignoring the challenge has overcome just to be starting in the Manchester Derby.
And then for him to perform like that, the last thing the defender deserved was more criticism.
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