Martinez apologises for Wilcox outburst after Manchester United's defeat to Atletico Madrid

Lisandro Martinez apologised on social media for publicly calling out Manchester United technical director Jason Wilcox following the club’s defeat to Atletico Madrid on Tuesday night, defusing what had threatened to become a significant internal controversy.

“Everyone knows that I am a passionate person and that I live football with great intensity,” the Argentine defender wrote. “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.”

Martinez added context to his post-match remarks, acknowledging that his frustration at yet another United defeat had driven the outburst and that he recognised his words had not helped the situation.

The apology arrives ahead of head coach Michael Carrick’s scheduled press conference on Friday, where the saga had been expected to dominate questioning. Carrick will still face questions about the episode, but Martinez’s statement significantly reduces the pressure on the manager to manage a live dressing-room dispute in public.

The speed of the climbdown stands in contrast to the reaction it generated among supporters. A poll conducted this week found that 95% of nearly 10,000 respondents agreed with Martinez’s original comments, suggesting the defender had given voice to a frustration widely felt among the fanbase even if the timing and forum were ill-judged.

Whether the apology fully closes the matter remains to be seen. Carrick’s press conference will offer the first official managerial response to the sequence of events, and the underlying issues that prompted Martinez’s outburst — a run of defeats and broader dissatisfaction with the club’s direction — have not been resolved by a social media post.