Lisandro Martínez has criticised Paul Scholes for mocking him on a podcast but not directly to the Manchester United defender’s face, following Saturday’s 2-0 win over Manchester City at Old Trafford.
Scholes and Nicky Butt, another prominent former United player, were each scathing about the diminutive Martínez and his ability to mark Erling Haaland, when speaking on the Good, the Bad and the Ugly before the 198th derby.
Of Martínez, Scholes said. “Haaland’d score then throw him in the net.” Butt added: “Haaland would pick Martínez up and run with him. You know when you see a dad at school running down the road with a little toddler.”
Responding after the derby to Scholes’s comments, Martínez said: “No, honestly, he can say whatever he wants. I told him 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 [former players] when they want to help the club because everyone can talk on the television, but when you see 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. It doesn’t give me anything. My motivation is my family. That’s it.”
Scholes later replied on Instagram, saying: “Someone’s had a good game, was really happy for you... Tea, no sugar pls.”
The win moved United up to fifth, one point behind Liverpool in fourth and Martínez highlighted how the relentless backing from supporters had helped. “I feel amazing,” he said. “I think we deserve to win this game.
“We were better on the pitch and I think we gave everything today. And when you give everything and you see the result, it’s an amazing feeling and I’m so happy. It’s about the connection [with the fans], it’s about how we represent them on the pitch. If they see us fighting like today, they will be with us.
“But if sometimes our performance wasn’t the best because they expect from us good attitude, tackles, the DNA, the blood of Manchester United. And I can really understand because sometimes it’s like ‘what are we doing here?’ And today, that is the standard for this club.”
While Scholes or Butt are not thought to have been at the derby, both attended last Sunday’s FA Cup loss to Brighton at Old Trafford. United beat City with second-half goals from Bryan Mbeumo and Patrick Dorgu in Michael Carrick’s first game as interim head coach.
Martínez said the 44-year-old was a contrast to Ruben Amorim, who was sacked two weeks ago. “So different, so different,” he said. “Different mentality, different guy. He knows what this club really means. He sent us that message that he played here for a long, long time. He won everything. He is 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.”
In 12 years at United, from 2006, Carrick claimed every major honour including five titles and the Champions League. Of Wednesday’s first training session Martinez said: “He was quiet. He was smiling. He was really confident. And that helps a lot.
“When you have a coach like Michael Carrick, who really knows, who really can share with you the energy of the club and what it means, it’s so different.”
