Martínez criticises United recruitment and executives after 2-0 defeat at Atlético Madrid
Lisandro Martínez publicly criticised Manchester United’s recruitment and executive leadership on 14 October 2026 after United’s 2-0 loss at Atlético Madrid, singling out director of football Jason Wilcox and saying the club lacks sufficient squad investment. His remarks included the line: “We don’t have the best squad at the moment compared with other top teams,” and he added: “I expect more [investment], 100%. I expect more from our technical director [Jason Wilcox] … Really poor [the Atlético defeat] – I have to control myself a lot but something is a reflection of the mirror of how our club is at the moment.”
United’s summer transfer strategy, which the Guardian reports targeted three midfielders — Andrey Santos, Youri Tielemans and Carlos Baleba — prompted bemusement inside the squad that other positions were not addressed, and the club’s recent managerial context is pertinent: Michael Carrick took charge with 17 Premier League games remaining in January and led United to third place after elimination from other competitions. The debate sparked by Martínez’s comments has focused on recruitment priorities and the balance between transfer policy and coaching.
Defensive reinforcements are a particular concern given the continuity of the current back four of Diogo Dalot, Martínez, Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw since 2022, and Martínez’s contract situation adds to the fallout: he is out of contract next summer and it is thought the 28-year-old may not be offered a new deal or have his one-year option triggered, a circumstance teammates say contributed to his outburst. That combination of defensive stability and contract uncertainty has intensified scrutiny of the squad’s makeup.
As director of football Wilcox holds near-unilateral power on football decisions with only Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who controls sporting policy, above him, and the most recent transfer window was Wilcox’s remit. The Guardian recounts earlier controversial episodes in Wilcox’s United record: while Dan Ashworth (Wilcox’s predecessor) was on gardening leave from Newcastle in the first half of 2024, Wilcox interviewed potential replacements for Erik ten Hag before concluding ten Hag should remain; ten Hag later signed a fresh contract and was sacked that autumn. The report also details a major falling out between Wilcox and Ruben Amorim, who said after a 1-1 draw at Leeds on 4 January: “I came here to be the manager of Manchester United – not to be the coach of Manchester United,” and Amorim was sacked the following day.
Wilcox’s background is outlined in the report: he worked with Omar Berrada at Manchester City where Berrada rose to chief football operations officer and Wilcox was academy director, and Wilcox then became Southampton’s director of football from summer 2023 until April 2024, when he joined United after being identified by Berrada. The Guardian says scrutiny has fallen on Wilcox’s experience at elite level and his performance in the market, though it adds that United’s poor start — six points from six league games and two victories in all competitions this season — cannot be laid solely at his door.
Players’ responses have been mixed: Andrey Santos said after the Atlético game, “We believe in the manager, we believe in the whole staff, we believe in [ourselves as] players,” while Amad Diallo posted on Snapchat: “Fucking disgrace; I have no words.” Those remarks sit alongside measurable on-field shortfalls cited in the report: United’s 671.4km run in the Premier League is the fifth-lowest and Arsenal’s 716.2km the highest, and United’s 581 sprints are the fourth-lowest with Brentford’s 765 the most.
Financial context is offered as mitigation for recruitment constraints: the American Glazer family remain majority owners and have placed “an eye-watering £1.1bn-plus debt on the club” which the report says severely restricts the transfer budget. Wilcox oversaw a £155m summer outlay and a net spend of about £100m, compared with Manchester City’s reported figures of £457.5m spent and about £175m net; City’s signings cited include Enzo Fernández (for a British record-equalling £125m), Elliot Anderson (£115m), Ayyoub Bouaddi (£81m) and Iliman Ndiaye (£65m), and the report notes last month’s verdict that City have serially cheated.
Carlos Baleba’s early appearances are highlighted as a rare positive: the Guardian describes his first 97 minutes for United as encouraging, noting that after coming on in the 59th minute against Tottenham he produced a swivel and chip to Bruno Fernandes, and that at Atlético the 22-year-old “hunted down opponents and crunched into tackles.” The piece adds that Baleba had been recovering from an ankle problem and says that, had he been fit to start the campaign, he might have affected matches including the defeat at Hull, the 2-2 draw at Everton when Ainsley Maitland-Niles equalised late, the 1-0 loss to City when Phil Foden was sent off after 23 minutes or the Carabao Cup elimination by Brighton.
Martínez’s public criticism has intensified scrutiny of United’s recruitment, executive decision-making and player contracts; his outburst coincides with a contract that expires next summer and the belief within the club that the 28-year-old may not have his option triggered or be offered fresh terms, a development teammates say partly explains his remarks.