Martínez's statement stands, with no apology attached

The Lead

Quotecorroboratedcompleted

Lisandro Martínez has published a statement of his own, and there is no apology in it

Martínez issued a written statement on Wednesday night, a day after his two interviews at the Metropolitano, and does not walk back what he said, per Fabrizio Romano. He frames his frustration at the result as the reason for his tone, not his substance: he still wants the club competing for the biggest honours, puts the players, himself first among them, at the front of that responsibility, and backs Carrick and his teammates.

What is missing matters as much as what is there. No apology covers the content on recruitment or Jason Wilcox, and nothing is withdrawn. The BBC, Sky and the Guardian carry the same text; Sky has him posting it to Instagram.

@FabrizioRomano · paywalled, link only

The Briefing

Creator Spotlight

Andy Mitten

Andy Mitten, tier 1, credibility 95 on our own scale.

Andy Mitten founded United We Stand in 1989 and is still writing about United thirty-seven years later, across The Athletic, FourFourTwo and the club's own magazine without ever going on its payroll. Over 500 player interviews and a family link to Charlie Mitten give him a longer view than the daily beat usually carries.

Club Pulse

Only First Team registers, pulled down by the Martínez fallout. Ownership, Manager, Academy and Women stay quiet on thin samples, and there is nothing to read into that.

Fan Voice

Broadcasters and supporters rallied loudly behind Martínez on Tuesday night, while others further afield are already looking past Carrick to whoever follows him next.

Lisandro Martinez build him a statue. Finally a serving player calling out the board and owners. Rest of the dressing room should stand with him immediately

@markgoldbridge, sentiment positive

Pretty obvious Carrick is on his way out now, that interview last night screamed of it. The next guy might get a bounce out of this lot but ultimately the outcome will be the same. Failure.

@CantonaManc, sentiment negative

Player in Focus

Leny Yoro

3 mentions on the day's count, sentiment negative, trend stable.

Yoro was sent off at the Metropolitano. Three mentions since split opinion: Keith Hackett backs the red card, Mark Clattenburg calls it soft, and Carrick disagreed with the decision on the night. Whether it costs him Como is still unconfirmed.

Sent off at the Metropolitano, with two former Premier League referees now publicly disagreeing about whether it was a red card.

Evening Standard

Loan Watch

Seven academy exits are settled this summer, from West Brom to Willem II, Luton to Innsbruck. Yoro is the only target still live, watched rather than wanted, and gets his own look in Player in Focus.

Rivals Radar

Leeds arrive at Sunday's fixture with no midweek game, sitting two spots and three points above United. City's Etihad defeat to Paris Saint-Germain was the week's one moment of schadenfreude.

Quote worth keeping

Asked on Tuesday night whether he would address Martínez directly about the fallout from Madrid, Carrick kept his answer deliberately short and procedural.

I need to find out a bit more about it before I can say if and what is going to be done.

Michael Carrick, Manager, to BBC Sport · 2026-10-14 · permalink

From the Archive

10-15 · 1971

Andy Cole born

Striker Andy Cole was born in Nottingham. He signed from Newcastle United in January 1995 and scored 121 goals for United, winning five league titles.

Andy Cole was born in Nottingham on this date in 1971. He arrived from Newcastle in January 1995 and scored 121 goals in a United shirt, winning five league titles.

Source

Hot Topics

Lisandro Martínez's statement (9, rising) · The disciplinary question (6, rising) · Carrick's position (4, rising)