Photo: Wikimedia Commons (free licence), cropped and styled by SportNestra — author and licence
Michael Carrick says Manchester United have moved past the crisis sparked by Lisandro Martínez’s comments about the club’s leadership. Ahead of Sunday’s match against Leeds United, the manager said the incident had not affected the atmosphere within the squad and that his players were in excellent spirits going into the game.
Carrick spoke on Friday before the fixture, answering questions about how the situation had developed and what had taken place at the club. “It’s already over, and we have moved beyond this as a group; it’s not a crisis,” he said. He acknowledged that someone might say something they should not have said, but stressed that it had not distracted the team from its work or damaged the group’s spirit.
The controversy followed a televised interview Martínez gave after Manchester United’s 0-2 defeat to Atlético de Madrid on Tuesday. In the interview, the defender criticised the club’s leadership and sporting director Jason Wilcox over recruitment the previous summer. On Thursday evening, Martínez posted an apology after discussions with the club’s leadership.
Carrick said the player understood that he had made a mistake. “I think he put out his statement and acknowledged his mistake, and that is enough for all of us,” the manager said, adding that this recognition allowed the group to move on. He also said training had gone well and morale was high, describing the team’s mood as excellent — the best he had seen for some time.
The manager acknowledged that recent results had not gone as hoped. But he said the players’ unity remained, and that they wanted to turn things around quickly. In Carrick’s view, the day’s training session was among the group’s best and reflected that shared determination.
Carrick also confirmed that Martínez would be part of the squad to face Leeds United. His message before Sunday’s match was clear: Manchester United have, in his view, put the controversy behind them, and the defender remains available for the game.
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