Lisandro Martinez calls for greater Manchester United investment after Atletico defeat

Lisandro Martinez has criticised Manchester United’s management for failing to provide the squad with enough support after their 2-0 defeat by Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.

United were beaten at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano in the second round of the competition, with Atletico securing a convincing victory.

Speaking to Amazon Prime after the match, Martinez said the club’s players had expected greater backing following their performances last season.

“We had an excellent season last year, and now we expect more from the management by signing more players capable of competing,” he said. “The clubs around us are bringing in outstanding players. Atletico are a very good team and fully deserved to win tonight.”

The Argentina defender said he had expected a significantly greater level of investment and also called on the club’s technical director to do more.

“I expected 100% more investment, and I expect more from our technical director,” Martinez said. “As players, we are performing better, but you need a complete squad ready to play matches of this level.”

Martinez argued that responsibility for United’s performances should not rest solely with the manager or the players. He said the club’s wider football structure also needed to be examined.

“It is easy to blame the manager or criticise the players, but we also have to review the performance of the other departments,” he added.

The defender also questioned the repeated changes in the dugout and said the club had created the foundations for something significant during the previous campaign.

“You cannot keep changing managers,” Martinez said. “What about the other areas? Last season, we laid the foundations to build something exceptional.”

He insisted that United needed to set more ambitious targets, including challenging for the Champions League and the Premier League, and said he would continue to speak openly about the club’s shortcomings.

“I expect more and I will not keep my mouth shut,” he said. “We need greater ambition and we need to talk about winning the Champions League and the Premier League.”

Martinez concluded: “Every season we talk about the same thing, and if we do not tell the truth, nothing will change.”

Manchester United signed Youri Tielemans, Andre Santos and Carlos Baleba during the previous summer transfer window.