Martínez says United does not have the best squad

The Lead

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Lisandro Martínez says United do not have the best squad and the club needs more ambition

Lisandro Martínez said after United's 2-0 defeat at Atlético Madrid that the squad does not match other top clubs and the club needs more ambition, telling Amazon Prime pitchside the performance was really poor and later hardening the point to CBS Sports Golazo. Fabrizio Romano's relay of that interview has him saying United do not have the best squad compared to other top teams. He aimed the criticism at the club's technical director rather than naming Carrick, crediting the players and manager with their share, per CBS. Martínez has one year left on his contract, with no extension reported, per BBC Sport's Simon Stone. The claim is corroborated across footage from several broadcasters.

CBS Sports Golazo · paywalled, link only

The Briefing

Creator Spotlight

Fabrizio Romano

Fabrizio Romano, tier 2, credibility 93 on our own scale.

Romano runs his own subscriber operation, independent of any club, and the trust he has earned rests on reserving his completion calls for moves that are actually done. It was his feed that carried Martínez's fuller CBS quotes before most outlets had them, relaying rather than inventing the line.

Club Pulse

Ownership mood dropped sharpest after Martínez's comments, manager sentiment eased lower too as scrutiny lands on Carrick, and the senior squad's reading stayed deeply negative following Madrid. Academy and women's layers stayed quiet.

Fan Voice

Reaction split along predictable lines: one supporter praised Martínez for naming the hierarchy, another had run out of patience with Carrick entirely.

Lisandro Martinez indirectly called out Manchester owners and sporting directors I love it

@Bullionfotty, sentiment positive

I've come to the conclusion that Michael Carrick has absolutely no shame. This is Manchester United, and the performances are simply unacceptable.

@Unitedpplus, sentiment negative

Player in Focus

Leny Yoro

4 mentions on the day's count, sentiment positive, trend stable.

Leny Yoro was sent off harshly in Madrid, United's own account calls it, with a quarter of an hour left and the scoreline still level. Four mentions put him in the frame, not a landslide, and nobody has said how many games the red card costs him.

Off on seventy four minutes with United chasing the game, in a dismissal the club itself calls very harsh. How many games it costs him has not been published.

manutd.com

Loan Watch

Most of the summer's exits are settled: Collyer, Moorhouse, Murdock, Gore and Malard have all departed for new clubs. The one live thread is Leny Yoro, PSG reportedly circling again, per Graeme Bailey; for his night in Madrid, see Player in Focus.

Quote worth keeping

Alan Shearer's blunt read on the mounting pressure facing Carrick, from the BBC's post-match coverage of the Atlético defeat:

[Carrick] needs a result. I don't care who or what you are, what the size of the club is or how much has been spent. What it all boils down to is attitude. It's results. And at the moment they haven't been good enough.

Alan Shearer, BBC pundit, ex-Newcastle, to BBC Sport · 2026-10-13 · permalink

Hot Topics

Lisandro Martínez on the squad, the investment and United's technical director (11, rising) · Atlético de Madrid 2 Manchester United 0, Champions League league phase (6, stable) · Michael Carrick's position after five games without a win (7, rising)