Following Manchester United's 0-2 defeat to Atlético Madrid in the Champions League, Lisandro Martinez spoke on Amazon, urging the club's management to invest more heavily in transfers. In response, Jamie Carragher criticized his comments on CBS Sports, arguing that such remarks serve no purpose and emphasizing that the club must present itself as a unified family externally.

Kate: Lisandro Martinez criticizing Manchester United's management. Oh my God, here we go. This was after the loss to Atlético Madrid.

Lisandro Martinez: "We performed very well last season, and now we expect the board to do more, to sign more players, to make the team more competitive, because many other teams have also signed a lot of players. I expect 100% more investment. I expect our technical director, Wilcox, to do more. I must be honest, as players, we need to do more. But building a strong squad, preparing the team for matches like tonight, is also very important. It's easy to blame the manager, it's easy to blame the players, but we also need to look at other aspects."

Kate: He was speaking to Amazon, by the way. Jamie, what do you think of what he said after the match?

Carragher: Saying something like that after a match doesn't help anyone. Over the next few days, this will be the focal point, and everyone will be talking about these comments. Fans of every club don't like their owners or their board. So Manchester United fans will love hearing these words, thinking he's absolutely right. But I think it's really poor that he came out and said this at this moment. I really do.

He said: "We performed very well last season." That's not true. A manager was sacked last season. Sacked!

They finished third because there were no cup competitions to play. They had no European football and were knocked out of cup competitions very early. So everyone said, Manchester United finished third, what a fantastic season. They finished third also because Liverpool and Chelsea performed so poorly.

This season, what we're seeing is the real Manchester United. The reason they didn't continue buying players this summer is that over the four or five years Martinez has been here, as far as I can remember, they've only played in the Champions League once, and that's this season—just once.

If you don't get Champions League revenue every season, but you're spending 200 million on transfers every season, eventually you have to stop, because you don't have that much money. This summer, Manchester United is still paying the next installments for players they bought years ago. That's why they don't have as much money to spend now. You can't keep spending like that. And, as I said, this group of players has had several managers, but their achievements fall far short. They've consistently underperformed, and they underperformed again tonight.

And about him specifically: I do think he's a good player. He's a World Cup winner, I understand that. But his start to the season has been absolutely terrible. His performances have been really poor. People will love hearing these comments, Manchester United fans will. But it doesn't help anyone.

Richards: Tell us what you really think.

Carragher: That's what we're paid for. What do you think of Martinez's comments?

Richards: I think a lot of what you just said is right, a lot of it.

Carragher: Which parts do you agree with?

Richards: No, no, I agree with what you said, really. I think you're right.

Kate: Do you think he's blaming the wrong people, or do you think his comments themselves are inappropriate?

Richards: No, I think if you're going to compete in the Champions League with a defense that's been playing together for some time... Jamie mentioned the young players on the team earlier, and that was a good point. If Manchester United wants to compete at the highest level, they need a better squad. So I can understand Martinez's thinking. But I can also understand Jamie's point: if you keep spending, and spending, and spending, when does it end?

Carragher: Okay, let me respond briefly. One of those young defenders, Yoro, cost 50 million. He was considered one of the best young defenders in the world at the time. Real Madrid and Liverpool both wanted him. He's been here for two years. I'm not even sure of his age now, but everyone still sees him as a kid. He was considered the best young defender at the time. And there's something interesting when players say these things: they never mention their own position.

Whenever a player says, "We didn't do enough in the transfer market," he will never reference a center-back. He won't reference a center-back; he'll reference other positions on the pitch. So how do you think the players who joined this summer feel hearing him say this now?

I'm not criticizing him simply because he's a Manchester United player. Last season, when Rúben Amorim criticized the board, I immediately said he should be sacked. Not just because of what he said. What I meant was, you're lucky to still have your job. You can't criticize your superiors like that.

I've always hated this approach. I think a football club is like a family. A lot happens within a family; people argue, some are unhappy about certain things. I can understand him being frustrated with the squad, Michael Carrick could be frustrated too. But as a football club, as a family, we all know there will be disagreements between siblings, parents, aunts and uncles, someone won't like someone, and there will be rows from time to time. But I'm telling you, once you leave the house, you have to present a united front. You have to do that; you have to support each other.

I'm serious now, I really mean it. I think it's the same for football clubs. When I was at Liverpool, if anyone said something they shouldn't have, or criticized the manager, or if the manager criticized the board, I hated it. We should be one unit. It might involve a bit of putting on a show for outsiders, but you have to do it; families do it, and football clubs do it. Now this will be everyone's talking point. This will spiral, it will completely blow up. I think his comments have overstepped the mark.

Kate: From a manager's perspective, what do you think?

Henry: I'm no longer a manager; I'm sitting here with you. I've always said, whoever wants to say something like that should keep it in the dressing room. It's as simple as that. That's the only acceptable way to handle it.

If rumors then leak from that room, the dressing room, that's another matter. You should always say it to that person's face, whoever you think the problem is, you should tell them directly. That's it. Saying these things through the media, through... I don't really like that approach. I've also seen some players do this for certain reasons, to push for a transfer.

But I've always believed more that whatever you think of someone, tell them directly to their face. And I'm not deliberately taking the opposite side to defend him, but just after a match, you sometimes say things you might regret later, because at that moment you could be very angry, very disappointed. Maybe he was trying to protect his manager, because you can see he mentioned things concerning the manager and so on. But these are things you can say in the dressing room.

Carragher: What do you think?

Kate: What do I think? I completely understand your point about the family, and I think you're right.

Traduit par IA.

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