Pitch footage reveals Martinez's heated exchange with Romero before his bombshell United rant

Lisandro Martinez’s explosive public criticism of Manchester United’s hierarchy on Tuesday night was preceded by a heated on-pitch exchange with Argentina teammate Cristian Romero, newly circulated footage has revealed, following United’s 2-0 Champions League defeat to Atletico Madrid.

Clips shared on social media show Martinez appearing to approach fellow Argentine Julian Alvarez in an agitated manner at full-time at the Metropolitano. Romero stepped in as peacemaker, engaging in a brief but intense exchange with Martinez before the two parted with a handshake, Romero walking away smiling.

Minutes later, Martinez gave a candid interview in which he directed pointed criticism at the club’s technical director Jason Wilcox and the summer transfer window. “I expected more from our technical director,” he said. “I have to be honest, you know? And also, as players, we have to do more, but it’s also important when you make a strong squad to be ready for these kinds of nights.”

When pressed on which positions he felt United needed to address, Martinez did not hold back. “In general. I think last season we did everything; we created a base to build an amazing team. But this is something to be honest and to prove something, you know? Yeah, it’s annoying, disappointing, to come here and not see my team trying to get an amazing result here. It’s disappointing.”

Fans on social media speculated that the confrontation with Romero acted as a catalyst for the outburst. Romero himself has previous form for publicly challenging club management — during his time at Tottenham in January, he took to social media to criticise those he felt only engaged “when things are going well.” Having spent the summer alongside Romero on international duty with Argentina, Martinez may have drawn on that example.

United manager Michael Carrick said he had not seen the interview at the time of his post-match comments. “I’ve heard about it as the interview was done, but I think it’s a little bit on the emotions of the game as well,” Carrick said. “Coming here and being disappointed not to get something from the game. Straight after a game for me isn’t the time to talk about that interview because I haven’t seen it, so I can’t really comment on that. But I think it’s important for us to move forward quickly, really.”

The club’s formal response to Martinez’s remarks has not been made public.