Wayne Rooney criticises ‘disrespectful’ Lisandro Martinez after bombshell Man United interview

Wayne Rooney accused Lisandro Martinez of being “disrespectful” towards the Manchester United leadership after the defender criticised the club’s technical director Jason Wilcox in an extraordinary interview following the Champions League defeat to Atletico Madrid. Martinez said the United squad expected more from Wilcox and United’s board in the transfer market and said manager Michael Carrick had not been properly backed in the summer after guiding the club to a third place finish in the Premier League last season. United have won just two of their first nine matches of the new season after a summer in which they spent £148m in upgrading their midfield department , but Martinez said Carrick’s side needed more to build on last campaign and mount a proper title challenge. The Argentina international’s comments came as the pressure on Carrick increased ahead of Sunday’s trip to Leeds in the Premier League, and former United striker Rooney said Martinez’s comments will distract from an improvement performance at Atletico after speaking out so publicly. “It's a difficult one because I always used to feel that I was outspoken as a player and you want to have your opinion,” Rooney told Prime Video . “I think he's maybe gone a bit too far, and that should have stayed internal. “The fans want to hear the players speak, they want to hear the players care so you can clearly see that he cares and he wants the club to invest more money in more players, and to do that he's probably one of the players who'll be out the door if I'm being honest. “His performances haven't been good enough, but I think in some ways he's right in terms of the club needing to invest more at the top end of the pitch and the defence, but I think it looks like it was a bit of an agenda and he wanted to say that because it doesn't reflect the performance I thought the performance was better. “That interview is not going to help the situation that the club is in. It's going to bring greater noise, the players are unhappy, they're unsettled and don't trust their own team-mates. It's not going to help at all.” Lisandro Martinez defended manager Michael Carrick (PA Wire) Rooney and Carrick’s former United team-mate Ashley Young also said the players must take responsibility. “We spoke before the game on how the club needs to invest more, but when they invested in midfield they are not going to be able to go [and buy more],” Young said. “What does he want, a whole new team? They are not going to do that. They need to start in different positions. They could have brought in defence, they could have brought in front but they didn't. “He's just come off the pitch, and emotions are running high. I get and understand that, but we know the recruitment needs to work, it has to be better but it takes time and do it. “The players know that themselves and need to take it among themselves that they are the players in this squad and they are the ones on this pitch and go and produce. There won't be any changes now until you get to January.” Carrick told Prime Video immediately after Martinez’s interview that he had not seen the Argentina international’s comments and refused to respond to them when they were read out to him by interviewer Gabriel Clarke. "I haven't seen it. After a game like this you come here to try and get something from the game and you are disappointed and can be emotional. I have not seen it so I don't think it is the right time. We all care and show that in different ways but now is the time to be together and work through."