After a 0-2 defeat to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League in the early hours of Wednesday (Vietnam time), Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez spoke out against the club's hierarchy, arguing they failed to invest enough during the recent summer transfer window.
The Old Trafford side is now on a five-match winless run across all competitions following the loss in the Spanish capital, and has made its worst start to a Premier League season in 40 years.
"Really bad," Martinez told Amazon Prime when asked about the team's performance against Atletico. "I have to control myself a lot, but sometimes it is a reflection... [or] a mirror of the current state of our club."
The Argentine defender said he "100%" expected the club to invest more last summer after United finished third in the Premier League the previous season and returned to Europe's most prestigious competition.
"I expected more from our technical director [Jason Wilcox], to be honest, and as players we have to do more, but the important thing is when you build a strong squad to be ready for nights like this," he continued.
Martinez argued that last season the team "created a foundation to build a great squad," but they failed to follow through.
Pressure is mounting on manager Michael Carrick after five games without a win, but Martinez suggested that sacking the English coach is not the right path.
"You cannot just keep changing, changing, changing managers. What about other areas? I cannot say more," Martinez said.
"Tonight it is easy to blame the coach, easy to blame the players, but we also have to look at other areas."
Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the club's minority shareholder, was at the stadium to witness the group-stage defeat against a side that reached the semi-finals last season.
United spent around £140 million ($185 million) this summer on midfielders Carlos Baleba, Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos, but fans are unhappy that the club did not strengthen other positions, including left-back and striker.
Speaking to reporters after the match, Carrick said he had not heard Martinez's comments and therefore could not assess them.
"I think part of it is the emotion of the game, coming here and being disappointed not to get anything from this match," the manager said.
Former Manchester United and England striker Wayne Rooney argued that Martinez's criticism went too far.
"I think he may have gone a bit too far, and that should have been kept in-house," Rooney told Amazon Prime. "You can clearly see that he cares and wants the club to spend more money on more players, and for that to happen, honestly, he might be one of the players who has to leave."
