Martinez apologises after Champions League outburst criticising United's recruitment chief

Lisandro Martinez has apologised for publicly criticising Manchester United’s recruitment chief Jason Wilcox following the club’s Champions League defeat to Atletico Madrid on Tuesday, after a clear-the-air meeting with manager Michael Carrick and the club’s leadership team at Carrington on Thursday.

Martinez was one of the last players to arrive at the training ground that day, and United sources have confirmed that any internal disciplinary action will remain private, though it is understood the Argentine defender has received a fine. The club says all parties have put the episode “behind them” and that the decision to apologise was Martinez’s own.

In a statement released on Instagram, Martinez said: “Today I met with the club’s leadership and the manager. It was a very positive conversation, where we were able to exchange views and speak openly about what happened after Tuesday’s game. Everyone knows that I am a passionate person and that I live football with great intensity. The frustration of the defeat led me to express how I felt at a time and place that perhaps were not the right ones, and for that I want to apologise.”

He added: “Our club is at its best when we are all united, and I recognise that my words in that moment did not help with that. I know that every single person at Manchester United is doing everything possible to achieve our shared ambition: bringing the success that this club and its supporters deserve. With this situation now behind us, we are fully focused on winning together.”

The remarks that prompted the fallout came immediately after the Atletico defeat, when Martinez told reporters: “I have to control myself a lot. But sometimes it’s a reflection of how our club is at the moment. We did a fantastic season last season, and now we expect more from the top, from above, to bring more players to compete.”

When asked directly whether United possessed a Champions League-quality squad, Martinez replied: “I expected more, honestly. I expected more.” Pressed further on whether he meant he had expected greater investment over the summer, he said: “Yeah, 100 per cent. I expected more from our technical director.”

The comments placed Wilcox, who oversees recruitment at Old Trafford, directly in the firing line and represented one of the most pointed public criticisms of United’s front office by a current player in recent memory. The swift resolution suggests the club was eager to contain the situation before it escalated further.