Anthony Martial had some harsh words for his former Manchester United bosses Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer – he labeled the former disrespectful and called the latter a traitor.
The Frenchman returned to United this summer following a six-month-long loan spell at Sevilla. Having lost the favor of all three of his previous managers, the Frenchman was shipped out to Spain on a temporary deal which the Andalusian side decided against turning permanent at the end of the campaign.
Having returned to England, Martial sat down with France Football and gave a scathing interview about his former bosses, Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Martial blamed Mourinho for disrespecting their professional relationship, a crisis borne out of the club’s act of taking away the forward’s shirt number and giving it to Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the summer of 2016.
“During the holidays, he sent me a message to ask if I want to change to the No.11, explaining to me that it is great because it was worn by Ryan Giggs, a club legend.
“I tell him that I have the greatest respect for Giggs but I prefer to keep the No.9. When I returned to the club, I see my name with the No.11, the story did not end well. He lacked direct respect for me.”
Martial then lamented Solskajer for his “treachery”; the France international complained that his former boss made him play through injuries but failed to protect him from the criticism in media and among fans when his performances weren’t up to the mark.
“I had a feeling of injustice, you are asked to sacrifice yourself for the team and behind the scenes, you are dismissed. For me, it’s almost treachery,”
he said.
Martial joined the Red Devils in the summer of 2015 in a deal worth up to 58 million pounds – a world-record back then for the world’s most expensive teenager. He enjoyed his most prolific season in 2018/19 when, in 48 appearances across all competitions, he scored 23 goals.
However, his output declined in the seasons that followed, leaving him with 79 goals in 270 appearances over eight years for the Red Devils.
