Lisandro Martinez has hit back at criticism from former Manchester United players following Saturday’s impressive win over Manchester City.
Ex-United midfielder Nicky Butt claimed on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast that Erling Haaland would “pick Martinez up and run with him” and treat the Argentine like a “little toddler”, while Paul Scholes said the City striker would “throw him in the net” after scoring.
Asked about Scholes’ comments, Martinez responded:
“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 when they want to help the club because everyone can talk on the television, but when you see (them) 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.”
Martinez also spoke about the importance of the bond between players and supporters at Old Trafford.
“It is about the connection. It’s about how we represent them on the pitch. If they see us fighting, they will be with us.
“If sometimes our performance wasn’t the best, because they expect a good attitude from us, tackles, the DNA, the blood of Manchester United.
“And I can really understand because sometimes it’s like ‘what are we doing here?’”
