Carragher dismisses Martinez's 'fantastic season' claim as a myth harming Manchester United

Jamie Carragher has publicly dismantled Lisandro Martinez’s defence of Manchester United’s recent form, calling the Argentina defender’s description of last season as “fantastic” a “myth” that is doing the club more harm than good.

Martinez made the claim in an explosive outburst following United’s Champions League defeat to Atletico Madrid — comments he has since apologised for. The centre-back argued that United had not been backed in the transfer market despite finishing third in the Premier League last season under Michael Carrick, and that the squad deserved greater investment ahead of this campaign.

Carragher, writing in his Telegraph column, rejected that framing entirely. “‘We did a fantastic season last season and now we expect more from the top,’ he said, perpetuating a myth which is doing United more harm than good,” Carragher wrote. “In what world does United sacking a manager, losing to Grimsby in the Carabao Cup and going out early in the FA Cup qualify as ‘fantastic’?”

The former Liverpool defender argued that United’s third-place finish was a product of circumstance rather than genuine quality. “United finished so high in the Premier League because Liverpool and Chelsea were awful and they could benefit from the lack of European football after being historically bad in 2025,” he wrote. “Anyone who seriously believed they came into this season as the third-best team in England, or on the threshold of a title challenge with a couple more additions, is suffering serious delusion symptoms.”

Carragher also tempered expectations around Carrick’s managerial credentials, noting that the step up to a full Premier League and Champions League campaign was always likely to expose the limitations of an inexperienced head coach. “Michael Carrick steadied the ship as interim, but it was entirely predictable that a young, inexperienced coach would find it more challenging under the weight of competing in the Premier League and Champions League.”

The criticism lands at a difficult moment for United, who sit 13th in the Premier League having won just one of their opening six matches of the season.