As reported by The Guardian, Manchester United striker Anthony Martial responded on Instagram to interim manager Ralf Rangnick’s allegations that the Frenchman refused to play for his team in their 2-2 draw with Aston Villa last night.
When asked about Martial’s withdrawal from United’s matchday squad at Villa Park last night, Rangnick said that the attacker didn’t want to be named in the squad even after the unavailability of Marcus Rashford and Cristiano Ronaldo, who are both injured.
On Saturday night, the 26-year-old appeared to respond to his manager’s allegations by posting an Instagram storey reaffirming his attitude and commitment to the squad and the club.
He said:
“I will never refuse to play a match for Man United. I’ve been here for 7 years and I never disrespected and never will disrespect the club and the fans.”
Martial has not played for Manchester United since a 3-2 victory against Arsenal in December. Since Rangnick took over at Old Trafford, the France international has not been selected in any of United’s last five games.
The striker has also stated a desire to leave the club on loan this month, despite United recently rejecting a proposal from Sevilla. It’s unclear whether Manchester United will consider any further proposals for their striker before the January 31 transfer window deadline.
Is there a controversy brewing?
Rangnick was asked about the future of Martial and his continuing absence after United’s poor 2-2 draw with Aston Villa last night and said that the Frenchman did not want to be in the team.
As reported by Sky Sports, the manager said:
“Yes, he didn’t want to be in the squad. He would have been in the squad normally but he didn’t want to and that was the reason why he didn’t travel with us yesterday.”
Martial has been with us since a big-money deal from Monaco in 2015, and he’s had a thrilling start to life at Old Trafford, scoring on his debut in front of the Stretford End against our arch-rivals Liverpool.
However, the France international has struggled to maintain his goal-scoring form for us in recent years and has been an inconsistent player since the start of last season.
The striker has a contract with us until 2024, but his poor form and lifeless displays for us when called upon suggest that his time at Old Trafford may be coming to an end soon. Our No. 9 had a strong season upfront for our team in the 2019-20 season but hasn’t been able to replicate it since.
Although our fans are waiting to see Martial score, his recent performances have been concerning. With our forwards struggling to score goals on a consistent basis this season, Martial’s dismal form hasn’t helped to alleviate the problem.
Our French forward’s time at the club appears to be coming to an end after requesting to leave in January in order to obtain more regular game time elsewhere. There appears to be some animosity between him and Rangnick, and it does not appear like we will see Martial again until the end of the season.
Rangnick certainly threw Martial under the bus with his statements, and the ex-Monaco midfielder was justified in retaliating in his own way—assuming, of course, that he genuinely wanted to play for Manchester United against the Aston Villa yesterday.
It is not a good idea to air our dirty laundry in public, thus it is important that the German manager demonstrate his skills and smoothly handle this situation behind the scenes.
