Carrick faces media as Martinez apologises for blasting United's summer transfer failures

Michael Carrick faced reporters at Carrington on Friday with Lisandro Martinez’s public apology — and the disciplinary fallout behind it — casting a long shadow over preparations for Manchester United’s upcoming match against Leeds.

Martinez sparked a storm after United’s 2-0 Champions League defeat to Atletico Madrid on Tuesday, publicly ripping into the club and technical director Jason Wilcox for failing to invest adequately in the squad over the summer. He released an initial statement the following day, then issued a second on Thursday in which he apologised for his remarks.

The apology came after clear-the-air talks between Martinez, Carrick, and the club’s leadership team at Carrington on Thursday. United sources have confirmed that any internal disciplinary action will remain private, though it is understood Martinez has received a fine over his comments.

Carrick was expected to be pressed on what consequences the Argentine defender has faced, as well as on the broader question of squad depth that Martinez’s outburst brought into sharp focus. United’s defeat in Madrid was not without context — the side competed reasonably well against last season’s Champions League semi-finalists until Leny Yoro was sent off, at which point the tie turned decisively against them.

The scale of supporter sympathy for Martinez’s position was underlined by a poll conducted this week in which 95 per cent of nearly 10,000 respondents said they agreed with the substance of his comments, even as the club moved to draw a line under the episode.

Carrick’s task at the press conference was to project calm and unity ahead of the Leeds fixture, with Martinez’s second statement having already defused some of the immediate tension. Whether the manager would signal any further consequences, or draw a firm line under the affair, remained the central question going into the briefing.