Lisandro Martinez says raw emotion drove his scathing swipe at Manchester United's hierarchy, as the fallout at Old Trafford continues.
Lisandro Martinez has opened up on his blistering criticism of Manchester United's hierarchy, admitting it came from a place of raw emotion rather than calculation.
The Argentine defender says he "spoke out of anger and frustration" when he took aim at the club's decision-makers. It is a rare public break from a player known for putting his body on the line on the pitch, not for airing grievances off it.
The comments put fresh heat on an Old Trafford project already under constant scrutiny. When a senior defender publicly challenges the people above him, it raises immediate questions about the mood inside the camp and how united the dressing room and boardroom really are.
Martinez's explanation reads as an attempt to cool the situation without taking back the feeling behind it. Frustration at United has been building for a long time, and he is far from the only one who has felt it.
What happens next will be telling. Managers and executives will want the focus back on football, but a player of Martinez's standing speaking this openly is not something that fades quickly in a Premier League season.
