LISANDRO MARTINEZ’S explosive reaction towards the Manchester United leadership was triggered by the necessity for Ayden Heaven to assume the left-back position, The Sun has reported.

The Argentinian defender feels that the decision to ask centre-back Heaven to step in for the injured Luke Shaw during the match against Atletico Madrid highlights the board’s failure to build a sufficiently competitive squad.

Martinez openly criticized United’s director of football, Jason Wilcox, for displaying a lack of ambition following the team’s 2-0 defeat, leading to unrest within Old Trafford, before making an apology on Thursday after receiving a club fine.

Manager Michael Carrick had emphasized the need for the club to acquire Newcastle United’s Lewis Hall over the summer to provide backup for the injury-prone Shaw, but higher-ups deemed the finances unavailable.

Instead, the club allocated £153m on midfielders Carlos Baleba, Youri Tielemans, and Andrey Santos.

Shaw exited Old Trafford limping after United’s 1-1 Premier League match against Spurs on Saturday and is anticipated to be sidelined for several weeks.

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Martinez fined by Man Utd as star issues apology for furious live TV outburst

A source stated: “Martinez was furious because he believes that having Ayden play left back in Madrid exemplifies the lack of depth in the squad. It simply doesn’t have enough resources.

“And the responsibility for that lies solely with the board.”

It was added that Martinez was not directly criticizing Heaven.

Instead, he was upset that the former Arsenal academy player, who joined the Red Devils in February 2025 and has made 26 appearances, was required to play out of his usual position.

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After the match, former United defender Gary Neville remarked on The Overlap that Heaven and fellow centre-back Leny Yoro—who received a red card during the match—would feel most anxious about Martinez’s statements.

Neville stated: “If you’re Leny Yoro or Ayden Heaven, and you’re uncertain about your first-team roles, and you’re a young player, you’re thinking: ‘My World Cup-winning centre-back has indicated we should have signed more players to prevent my playing’, you’re likely to feel quite anxious.

“What he’s saying is valid; they should have recruited more defenders,” Neville acknowledged.

“However, expressing that publicly as a player implies that the teammates you’re on the field with aren’t good enough. That’s where the group has to support him.”

Additionally, a team dinner planned for Thursday was scrapped due to the aftermath of the loss.

Carrick will conduct a press conference on Friday ahead of United’s match against Leeds on Sunday.

SunSport has learned that Martinez is looking to depart the club on a free transfer when his contract concludes at the end of the season.

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