Lisandro Martinez has reminded everyone of his world-class quality during this summer’s World Cup, starring for Argentina en route to the final.
The World Cup final sees one Manchester United player flying the flag for the Red Devils, with Lisandro Martinez 90 minutes away from a second World Cup trophy of his career.
Martinez was superb against England in the semi-final on Wednesday night as he kept Harry Kane incredibly quiet, as the Bayern Munich man had absolutely no joy throughout the entire game.
After the game, Martinez voiced how huge a victory it was, and it was the latest in a long line of strong performances for his nation this summer. Martinez’s campaign has been so good that he’s considered the best centre-back at the World Cup this summer.
WHAT A PERFORMANCE by Lisandro Martinez 🔥 How would you rate his World Cup campaign for Argentina? 🇦🇷
His World Cup performances suggest he is one of the best in the world, but we've seen otherwise at Manchester United
Lisandro Martinez has been the best defender at the World Cup
Argentina hasn’t had the smoothest ride to the World Cup final, struggling through every round, but their quality players have stepped up in the key moments to get them through.
Martinez has started every game for Argentina, playing with his heart on his sleeve, showcasing his elite passing with an assist for Lionel Messi earlier in the competition. Martinez also stepped up with a goal, adding to how impressive he has been.
To highlight this, WhoScored have published their team of the tournament on X, with Martinez named in the squad with a 7.38 average rating.
This puts him as the highest-rated centre-back in the competition, ahead of Aymeric Laporte, who is the second-highest rated during the tournament with 7.18.
To perform at such a consistently high level is impressive from Martinez and will make him a hero back in Argentina. But these performances will also be pleasing for United, and could give Ineos the chance to take ruthless action.
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Manchester United could cash in on Martinez after stellar World Cup
In the past few days, Martinez has been linked with a move to Atletico Madrid, having reportedly been offered to Diego Simeone’s side, where you can imagine he would fit in well.
While Martinez is top class, the hard truth about ‘the butcher’ is that he isn’t fit anywhere near enough to be relied upon by United in 2026, with his contract set to expire in 2027, and so this summer is the ideal time to cash in.
United could expect a World Cup premium price for Martinez this summer if he were to be on the chopping block, with Atletico’s interest likely to come with a decent offer.
Martinez would probably be very keen to play under Simeone, and United are unlikely to offer him a new contract given the injuries, so selling to Madrid for £30m+ could be considered excellent value for Ineos.
The performances that Martinez has put in make him very sellable this summer, and while United wouldn’t push him out, by showing his world-class level, Atletico could hand Ineos a really tempting offer to be ruthless and let him go, opening the door for another defender to arrive.
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