Roy Keane has described Manchester United as being “like a circus” following Lisandro Martinez’s public attack on the club’s hierarchy, saying the defender’s outburst reflects a wider state of chaos at the club.
Martinez’s comments came after Tuesday’s 2-0 Champions League defeat by Atletico Madrid, a result that stretched United’s winless run to five games. The Argentina international criticised United for failing to strengthen the squad in the summer after qualifying for the Champions League, saying he expected more investment in the team and “more from our technical director [Jason Wilcox]”.
On Wednesday, Martinez said on social media that he had spoken out of “anger and frustration”. The 28-year-old, who joined United from Ajax in 2022, is out of contract at the end of the season, although the club has the option to extend it by a further year.
Speaking on The Overlap podcast, Keane said the episode said as much about the club as it did about the player. “There will be some fans saying it’s great and some saying you’re letting the team down, especially from a player who hasn’t been at his best, when the team is struggling,” he said. “I think as a reflection of the club, it’s obviously chaos there, like a bit of a circus.
“When you’re going through a difficult spell like United are, the issue I have with certain players saying things is you always have to start with the man in the mirror before you start coming out with all these comments.”
Keane, a former United captain, also questioned Martinez’s standing within the squad. “I don’t think it will be a big falling-out – because I think we have question marks over this dressing room anyway,” he said. “I don’t think there’s enough characters – enough men in there – but I don’t see him as a senior player at Manchester United. I see him as a centre-half who’s making lots of mistakes.”
Former United defender Gary Neville took a similar view from a player’s perspective, comparing the incident to comments made by Wayne Rooney when the pair were team-mates in 2010. “I’ve got a problem with this from a player’s perspective,” Neville said. “That is a direct attack on the players you are playing with. So if I were Harry Maguire or Bruno Fernandes, or any other senior player, I would be absolutely fuming with him because you’re basically saying we shouldn’t be here and we should be bringing more players in.”
United return to Premier League action on Sunday with a trip to Leeds United.