Lisandro Martinez is in the mood to silence Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt, but his real message is indirect and brutal towards Ruben Amorim.
The Manchester derby was played in the backdrop of intense pressure, and, unfortunately, what is becoming a common theme, some ill-intentioned attacks from ex-players.
Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt brought out some school playground humour in the lead-up to the derby, targeting Lisandro Martinez for his physical mismatch vs Erling Haaland.
Who are you backing in Paul Scholes and Lisandro Martinez’s war of words?
Paul Scholes and Lisandro Martinez have reignited their feud after the Manchester derby…
It was an ill-informed opinion anyway, but Martinez eventually also made them look foolish. However, as strong as his rebuttal was, the real message that needs more coverage was directed towards Ruben Amorim.
Lisandro Martinez responds to Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt
Before delving into the crux of his brutal indirect message for Amorim, it’s worth seeing his rebuttal for Scholes and Butt to provide full context.
Martinez was clearly in a talkative mood after the derby, where he was excellent in both phases, and wasn’t going to let this chance to hit back slip by.
He invited Scholes to come to his house and say to his face what he has been saying about him in the media, adding that he’ll always welcome criticism if it comes from the right place.
He said [via The Athletic]: “I told him [Scholes] already, if he wants to say something to me, he can come to wherever he wants, to my house, wherever. I don’t care. And I think for me, I respect the relations when they want to help the club because everyone can talk on the television but when you sit here face to face, no one says anything in your face.
“So for me, I don’t really care what they say. I just put the focus on my performance, the performance of the team and I give everything to this club until my last day.”
Scholes didn’t waste time getting back at him, essentially proving that it was never about “caring for the club,” all about wanting to stay as the main character at a club which moved on from them more than a decade ago.
The real story is a brutal indirect dig at Ruben Amorim
The comments above grab the headlines because it’s what the media love the most – pitting United players against former pros to generate drama.
However, for Man Utd fans, it’s a tired topic, and they have largely switched off from listening to these ex-players because they just add to the toxicity.
Lisandro Martinez silenced the critics to dominate Erling Haaland AGAIN
What did you think of his performance?
Therefore, the part of Martinez’s comments that should get more coverage is his indirect message to Amorim.
It was widely believed that Amorim had the players on his side until the very last day, but Martinez said something about Carrick after the game, which gave an insight into how much trust they’d lost in Amorim.
He said: “So different, so different [under Carrick]. Different mentality, different guy. He knows what it really means, this club. He sent us that message that he played here for a long, long time. He won everything. He’s a big legend. He wants to help the club and I think we were in a tough situation and today was the best moment to change that.
“He was quiet. He was smiling. He was really confident. And that helps a lot.”
The comments above are not generic because they directly address each thing Amorim was accused of lacking.
“He knows what it really means,” when Amorim was repeatedly criticised for ripping apart the United DNA. “He was quiet, he was smiling, he was really confident,” is basically three things Amorim never was or did, and that fear and stress were transmitted to the players.
“Different mentality” might just be the most brutal of them all, as Carrick went for the win and didn’t try to protect the lead and invite pressure, something which Amorim regularly did.
As said above, his comments on Butt and Scholes will grab the headlines but these comments about Carrick are a lot more insightful.
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
