Krishnan Sreekumar
Manchester United forward Anthony Martial hits back at interim manager Ralf Rangnick’s claim after Aston Villa draw
Taking to Instagram, Manchester United striker Anthony Martial hit back at interim manager Ralf Rangnick after the German coach claimed that the Frenchman refused to play for his side in their 2-2 draw last night vs Aston Villa (h/t Manchester Evening News).
Martial did not feature in United’s matchday squad at Villa Park last night, and when asked about the Frenchman’s omission from his team sheet, Rangnick claimed that the striker declined the opportunity to be named in the squad in the absence of injured duo Marcus Rashford and Cristiano Ronaldo.
The 26-year-old seems to have hit back on his manager’s claims by posting an Instagram story on Saturday night, defending his stance and dedication to the team.
“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 featured for the Red Devils since he played in the 3-2 win over Arsenal back in December. The France international has not been selected in the last five United games either, since Rangnick took over the reins at Old Trafford.
The forward has also expressed his desire to leave the club on loan this month, with United rejecting an approach from Spanish side Sevilla in recent weeks. It remains to be seen if the Manchester club will entertain any other offers for their striker before the winter transfer deadline on January 31.
A controversy brewing?
After United’s disappointing 2-2 draw against Aston Villa last night, Rangnick was asked about the future of Martial and his continued absence, and claimed that the Frenchman did not want to be in the squad.
“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 on our books since a big-money move from Monaco in 2015, and had an exhilarating start to life at Old Trafford, scoring on debut against our arch-rivals Liverpool in front of the Stretford End. The France international, however, has not been able to keep up his goal-scoring touch consistently for us in recent years and has been a peripheral figure since the start of last season.
The striker is on contract with us till 2024, but it seems like his time at Old Trafford could come to an end soon with his poor form and lifeless displays for us when called upon. Our No. 9 had one prolific season up front for our club in the 2019-20 campaign, but has failed to hit the same heights since then.
Although our fans happily sing the tales of Tony Martial coming from France and scoring again, his recent performances have been a cause of concern. With our forwards struggling to score goals regularly this season, Martial has not helped to ease this goal-scoring dearth with his poor form.
Having made a request to leave the club in January to gain more first-team minutes elsewhere, it would seem that our French forward’s time at the club has come to an end. There clearly seems to be some bad blood between him and Rangnick, and it does not seem like we could see any more of Martial till the end of the season.
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Rangnick clearly threw Martial under the bus with his words and the ex-Monaco star was right to hit back in his own way- if, of course, he actually did want to play for the Red Devils against the Villains yesterday. It is not a good idea to wash our dirty laundry in the open and it is important the German man shows us his competence and handles this matter with grace behind the scenes.
