Divorced/Single Parent/Father of 4 daughters, Self Employed (Granite Rocks! cc), Reside in Pretoria, Spiritual, Love music (Heavy Metal), Fishing/Camping
🚨🎙️ Zlatan Ibrahimović on Lisandro Martínez’s latest comments about Manchester United:
Reporter: “Lisandro Martínez’s comments have caused quite a reaction at Manchester United. Some people believe he’s right to speak out, while others think he’s creating unnecessary controversy. What’s your take?”
Zlatan Ibrahimović:
“(Laughs) Honestly, I respect him for saying it. Not because I agree with every word he says, but because somebody has to ask these questions. This is Manchester United, not some small club where finishing fourth is the biggest achievement in its history.
And honestly, if there is a Manchester United legend who feels offended by what Martínez said, then he is either a coward or a big fool who doesn’t want the best for this club. I said what I said. If you truly love Manchester United, you should want this club to win trophies, not protect people from uncomfortable questions. Being a legend doesn’t mean you should defend every decision the club makes. Sometimes, loving a club means having the courage to admit when things aren’t right.
When you play for a club like this, you should be thinking about winning trophies, competing with the best and making history. You shouldn’t have to keep explaining why the club needs to be more ambitious. That should already be understood.
Look at the biggest clubs in Europe. They identify their weaknesses, bring in quality players and build squads capable of competing for everything. At Manchester United, too often, the conversation becomes about the next manager. One comes in, another goes out, and everybody expects a different result. But at some point, you have to ask yourself: if the same problems keep returning, is the manager really the only problem?
You can change the coach ten times, but if the decisions above him aren’t right, what exactly do you expect him to do? A manager can improve players, organise a team and give it an identity, but he cannot magically create quality where the squad needs it. The people running the club have responsibilities too.
And this idea that Martínez is throwing his teammates under the bus? Come on. Did he name anybody? Did he say his teammates are useless? No. Saying a team needs more is not an attack on your teammates. Sometimes, it’s the most honest thing you can say because you know what this club is supposed to represent.
I have played with ambitious players. Trust me, when you want to win, you get frustrated when you feel the people making decisions aren’t matching your ambition. You don’t want to spend your career talking about potential. You want to see that potential become trophies.
And the fans have every right to ask the same questions. What is the plan? What are the expectations? Are Manchester United building a team to challenge for the Premier League and the Champions League, or are they satisfied with qualifying for Europe and calling it progress?
Because if your ambition is to win, then build like a club that wants to win. Recruit like a club that wants to win. Make decisions like a club that wants to win.
Manchester United’s history is enormous. But history doesn’t win your next trophy.
So I don’t understand why people are so offended by Martínez asking for more. Maybe they should be asking why a club of this size still has so many questions about its direction.
Rebuilding is normal in football. But rebuilding without a clear destination? That is not a project. That is a cycle.
Manchester United need to break that cycle. That’s the real issue.”
🚨Nemanja Vidić on Lisandro Martínez potentially leaving Manchester United after speaking out against the club’s board:
“Let me tell you something, Manchester United board. If you think pushing Martínez out will solve this problem, then you haven’t understood anything. You are the problem!
This is a football club, not a dictatorship. A player should not be punished for telling the truth about what is happening behind the scenes. If his words make you uncomfortable, maybe it’s because he has exposed something you don’t want people to see.
And to the fans attacking him, what exactly do you want? Do you want players to keep their mouths shut while this club continues to fall apart? Do you want them to smile, collect their wages and pretend everything is fine?
Martínez is one of the best defenders at this club. Look at his quality, his passion and what he brings to the team. Do you honestly think replacing him will fix Manchester United?
He is not asking for his teammates to be thrown out. He is demanding change! There is a massive difference.
Manchester United have fallen so far that speaking the truth has become a crime. That is shameful!
If the board cannot accept criticism, cannot fix the problems and cannot take this club forward, then what exactly are they still doing there?
This club belongs to its history, its supporters and its footballing identity…. not to the people running it today. If you cannot restore Manchester United, step aside and let someone else do the job!”
🎙️🗣️ SIR ALEX FERGUSON BACKING LISANDRO MARTINEZ
🗣️"I have always believed that Manchester United is bigger than any individual, but that does not mean we should ignore the truth simply because it makes certain people uncomfortable."
🗣️"When a player like Lisandro Martínez speaks about what is happening inside the club, the first question should not be whether his words are convenient. The first question should be whether he has a point."
🗣️"I built teams that were expected to win trophies, not teams that were satisfied with simply participating. At Manchester United, second best was never the objective. We could lose a match, of course, because football is football, but what mattered was how we responded, the standards we demanded, and the hunger we showed afterwards."
🗣️"That is what made this club special."
🗣️"If Martínez believes that more should be expected from the technical leadership, then I want to know why. Why should a player who puts his body on the line every weekend be afraid to ask difficult questions? Why should the manager be expected to carry the entire responsibility for every failure while other people escape scrutiny? Football is a collective responsibility, and nobody at Manchester United should be too important to answer for their decisions."
🗣️"Let me make something very clear: changing managers is not a magic solution. You can bring in one manager, dismiss him when results become difficult, appoint another, and repeat the same process for years."
🗣️"But if the structures surrounding that manager remain ineffective, what exactly do you expect to change? A new face in the dugout cannot automatically repair poor recruitment, a lack of planning, or a club without a consistent footballing identity.
I have seen what happens when a club loses its standards. People begin making excuses. They start blaming individual players, then the manager, then injuries, then the schedule. Eventually, everybody has an explanation for why Manchester United are struggling, but very few people accept responsibility for fixing the problem.
That is not the Manchester United I knew.
🗣️When I was in charge, there was pressure on everyone. Players had to perform. Coaches had to improve the team. Scouts had to identify the right players. The people running the football operation had to understand what the manager needed. Nobody could simply point at somebody else and say, 'That is not my responsibility.' We were all working towards one objective: making Manchester United successful.
🗣️And if Martínez expected more from the technical director, I would tell him this: those are legitimate questions to ask. The technical leadership of a football club cannot simply stand in the background when things go wrong. If the recruitment is not delivering, if the squad is unbalanced, or if the manager is not being given the right tools, somebody must explain what is happening.
You cannot spend years talking about rebuilding and then act surprised when supporters become impatient. Rebuilding is not an excuse to abandon ambition. It is a process that requires intelligent decisions, clear leadership, and people who understand what Manchester United represents.