Harsh statements: from Falkland's flag to criticism of the Red Devils' management

Manchester United legend Nicky Butt has launched a scathing attack on Lisandro Martinez, the Red Devils' Argentine defender, slamming his recent displays as well as his public criticism of the club's management.

Butt also revisited the incident in which Martinez raised a banner relating to the Falkland Islands while on duty with Argentina at the 2026 World Cup. In his view, the defender does not deserve the fans' sympathy given how far his level has dropped this season.

Martinez drew criticism after a number of Argentina players held up a banner reading "The Malvinas Islands are Argentine", following the 2-1 win over England in the World Cup semi-final last July.

Alongside Cristian Romero and Giovani Lo Celso, the defender was part of the display. The Argentine Football Association were fined £235,000 over the incident, but Martinez himself escaped punishment, according to the Mirror newspaper.

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A scathing attack: "What are you doing?"

Speaking during his appearance on Piers Morgan Uncensored, Pat said: "He lives in our country, then he dances and raises the Argentina flag at the World Cup. What are you doing? And then you expect people to pat you on the shoulder when you put in a bad game."

He added: "Some of these people need to understand the matter. It doesn't matter if you earn 200,000 pounds sterling a week and drive a Rolls-Royce in your small village believing you have become a king. You can do what you want, but you cannot expect people to praise you when you play this badly and attack others."

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A strongly worded message to Martinez: you must beware!

The former midfielder also rounded on Martínez for his comments, which took aim at Manchester United's management over its transfer policy after last month's 0-2 Champions League defeat to Atlético Madrid. Butt reckons the Argentine defender isn't playing well enough to be criticising the club's officials. In fact, he could be among the first players shown the door if United decide to strengthen their ranks.

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He said: "These players become extremely sensitive to criticism. Then he has the audacity to do an interview in which he criticises those responsible for transfers, even though he is not performing well himself."

"If the club decides to sign new players, he should be careful, because he is one of the first players they might replace," he continued.

Butt also took issue with the challenge that saw Martínez sent off during the 0-2 loss to Chelsea, when he caught Morgan Rogers with his elbow inside the box. The incident handed Chelsea a penalty too.

Nicky Butt added: "He gave up in that incident and used his elbow, and the reason is that he does not have enough strength to defend properly."

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"If he had been around in our day, we would have torn his head off."

Butt looked back on his own Manchester United days, insisting his teammates would have reacted very differently had any player behaved this way back then.

He said: "In my day, they would have torn his head off completely (he would have faced a very harsh dressing down). Everyone would have asked him: who do you think you are to talk about your teammates like that, given the level you are producing? And even if you were the best player in Europe, you have no right to talk about your teammates in that manner."

His parting shot? Martinez has gone from a fan favourite to a player the supporters want out. Butt backed Piers Morgan's call to leave the defender out of the squad under Michael Carrick.

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