Rio Ferdinand REACTS to Lisandro Martinez BLASTING Man United's hierarchy in BOMBSHELL interview!
Rio Ferdinand on Lisandro Martinez publicly criticising Man United's hierarchy: he should have spoken internally first or risk the same fate as Keane and Ronaldo
Rio Ferdinand reacts to Lisandro Martinez's bombshell interview criticising Manchester United's hierarchy. He says players should address teammates and management before going public, and warns that public challenges to the hierarchy rarely end well, citing Keane, Beckham, Stam, Ronaldo and Rangnick as precedents.
- Before judging Martinez properly, you must know whether he had already spoken to the dressing room and the management — It matters whether teammates, especially new signings, understood the context of what he was saying
- Martinez should have come to his teammates or addressed the dressing room before speaking publicly — Teammates hearing it first through the media creates an awkward dressing room
- Publicly challenging a club's hierarchy rarely ends well — Roy Keane spoke publicly and left days later; Cristiano also called people out and left soon after
- He does not disagree with some of what these players said, but speaking out about the hierarchy has consequences — He is pointing to what happens when someone attacks the club's hierarchy
- Martinez's public comments will make new signings feel questioned and create dressing-room awkwardness — It sounds like he is saying the new players are not at the level and there are not enough players to compete
- Martinez will meet this head-on and clarify his true meaning in the dressing room — Martinez is a straight-up guy, and the language barrier may have made his words sound different
- Sir Alex would never have allowed a player to speak publicly like that — Players who spoke out against teammates or the hierarchy were gone, such as Roy Keane, David Beckham and Jaap Stam
- Players should handle dissatisfaction internally, not gesture publicly on the pitch — He himself reacted angrily after being substituted against Bayern Munich in the Champions League, was shut down by the manager, and his apology was not accepted
- Rangnick's talk of "open-heart surgery" was not far from the truth — He accepts United needed major rebuilding, and Cristiano publicly criticised the ownership, facilities rebuild and manager Ten Hag
- This is unlikely to be any different for Martinez; publicly attacking the hierarchy may also end with him leaving — Cristiano and Rangnick both left the club shortly after their public outbursts
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Transcript
I think there's a couple of things you have to consider before you make a real um kind of detailed assessment. I think you've got to understand what the relationship he has in the change room is. Has this been discussed between the players before he goes out there? So the likes of the new signings like Tielemans, Bela, etc. Santos and the guys are fully aware of the context of what he's saying. Um and has he spoken to the management? Um, those questions I think need you'd need to have the answer to. And I think if I was a player, I would have I would have liked to have him I would like to him to have come to me first or to address the dressing room first before he went and spoke publicly like that. Um, these things don't end well, man. They don't end well. Roy Keane spoke publicly. There could have been no more influential, bigger player than him. He was the captain at the time and he he left days later. Um Cristiano Ronaldo called out people, individuals within the club, the manager, the ownership. He left straight after Ralph Ranek looked like he was going to be there for a couple of years as interim manager. Called out and said that things that needed to be done. And I'm not disagreeing with what some of these guys have said, by the way. I'm just saying this is what happens when someone talks out about the hierarchy at the football club. Um, so yeah, I I first and foremost I think he hopefully he's had a conversation and the players are well aware of how he felt because I don't think it's cool for the players to be hearing this firstly in the media rather than face to face with one of your teammates. um which which makes it an awkward situation in the dressing room. And I'm just thinking about it as a player. How would I feel if I was one of the new guys who came in and how it sounds in the media is that the the players who have come in one I don't know if they're the level but two also we haven't got enough players to compete at this level. So, um, yeah, I I would definitely be then going like, okay, well, where what what does he think of me? And that's the question I'll be thinking. Um, but then I think it's the reaction. He's going to see this reaction and you know what, Landro Martinez, he's a straightup guy. This tells you that. And I think he'd meet this head on. And I think that seeing the reaction, I think he will then go into the team and go, listen guys, this is how it is. This is what I I said. If it come across differently to the way I really meant it because of the language barrier, etc., then so be it. But this is what I really meant. Um, and I think he would probably do that. I got to be honest with you. Um, another question. Would would Sir Alex have allowed a player to speak publicly like that? Not a chance. If that happened in our time, I told you before when players spoke out against other players or the the hierarchy at the club, they they were they were gone. Roy Keane um a different way, but David Beckham maybe just wasn't [clears throat] doing the things the manager wanted. Gone. Yap Stam wrote a book and hammered a couple of players. Gone. At the peak of his powers, the best center back in the league. Um and the players and Cristiano and Rafany as well. So, we'll have to wait and see what happens. Um and and I bring it round to myself and think like what would it be like in my situation? Was I ever involved in a situation where I called out the club? Do you know what? The manager made the substitution. I've spoken about this before. The manager made the substitution against Bayern Munich in the Champions League. I thought it was the wrong substitution and I was going crazy. Um on the pitch in the tunnel in a change room, the manager completely shut me down. Um I went in the next day and apologized cuz I in the end I thought I was wrong. I shouldn't have I shouldn't have gestured and made it clear how I felt on the pitch in the glare of everybody else. I should have gone into the change room and done it in the change room, which I spoke to him about the next day when I tried to apologize to him. He didn't accept it. He still hammered me. Um, still find me. But it's a bit different to I didn't come out in the media and personally like get at anybody. But yeah, he made me know where my place was and not to do that again. I said about Cristiano and Ralph Ryak doing this and Ralph Ryak, you remember him famously talking about open heart surgery, which I think he wasn't far far off the truth. By the way, Cristiano, while still a player, um he called out the ownership and the lack of kind of rebuild in terms of facilities and the manager Tenhog. And then both of those guys left the club shortly after that um after those outbursts. So, it looks like this. I can't honestly see this being any different.