Neville warns Yoro and Heaven will feel the sting of Martinez's United outburst most

Gary Neville has identified Leny Yoro and Ayden Heaven as the Manchester United players most likely to be damaged by Lisandro Martinez’s explosive public criticism of the club, delivered in two separate post-match interviews after United’s Champions League defeat to Atletico Madrid on Tuesday.

Martinez used both interviews to accuse the United hierarchy — singling out director of football Jason Wilcox and the board — of failing to back manager Michael Carrick with adequate defensive reinforcements. The club has not publicly responded, though Martinez faces the prospect of internal sanctions and an uncertain future at Old Trafford.

Speaking on The Overlap, Neville acknowledged the substance of Martinez’s complaint while questioning the wisdom of airing it publicly. “What he says is right, they should have brought in more defenders,” Neville said. “However, you can’t say that as a player. If you say that publicly as a player, you’re effectively saying that the players I’m playing with are not good enough.”

Neville reserved particular concern for the club’s younger centre-backs. “If you’re Leny Yoro or Ayden Heaven, and you’ve got a little doubt about settling into the first-team, and you’re a young player, you’re thinking: ‘My World Cup-winning centre-back has said we should have brought more players in so I don’t play’ — you’re really feeling nervous and anxious.”

Roy Keane was less measured in his assessment, describing United as a “circus” and questioning the cohesion of the dressing room. “They’re obviously not together. It is chaotic there from the top to the bottom,” the former United captain said. “It just seems chaotic — statements can reflect it. It was chaotic with how they got to Carrick as their manager.”

Keane also cast doubt on Martinez’s standing within the squad. “I don’t think it will be a big falling out, because I think we’ve got question marks over this dressing room anyway. I don’t think there’s enough characters, enough men in there. I don’t see him as a senior player at Man United; I see him as a centre-half who’s making lots of mistakes.”

Martinez attempted to soften the fallout on Wednesday night with a statement posted to Instagram. “After the match, I spoke out of anger and frustration at not getting the result we all wanted,” he wrote. “Those who know me know how I live football, with passion, commitment and a huge desire to win.”