Logo

Logo

Anthony Martial confirms Manchester United return, takes dig at Jose Mourinho

It seems the 22-year-old French winger is openly challenging Mourinho, how will he respond?

Anthony Martial confirms Manchester United return, takes dig at Jose Mourinho

Manchester United winger Anthony Martial (Photo: Manchester United F.C./Twitter)

Anthony Martial on Wednesday finally confirmed his return to Manchester United with a tweet, but in the same post lay a snipe at manager Jose Mourinho, which has gotten fans worried that the French winger’s time at Old Trafford is effectively up.

Martial flew back from the Red Devils’ tour of the United States last week to attend the birth of his child—Swan Martial—with partner Melanie da Cruz.

And while the 22-year-old did indeed have permission, Mourinho wasn’t shy at expressing his disappointment at the winger’s decision to stay on even after the birth.

Advertisement

With the likes of Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard and Romelu Lukaku all on vacation following their exploits at the World Cup, the Portuguese manager had very few senior options while going forward.

It’s no secret that Martial and Mourinho don’t see eye-to-eye, for the Frenchman has found playing time incredibly hard to come by in the two seasons that the Special One has been in charge of the Red Devils.

Mourinho, who’s reportedly looking for a winger and a central defender, went on to admit that he would be willing to offload Martial if the price was right and  if United got one of their targets.

However, with United unlikely to accept a bid south of £80 million for a player they paid £56 million three years ago, there are a precious few clubs who will not be priced out.

To further complicate matters, United are reportedly going to fine the Frenchman £180,000 for failing to inform the club over his delayed return.

Here’s the tweet, in which Martial warns everyone that ‘family comes first’:

Written in his native French–the tweet–after translation, reads:  “Thank you all for your posts. My little Swan is fine, for the mom it was harder but thanks to God she’s better now. Sorry but my family will always come first… Back tomorrow in Manchester.”

Things are certainly getting awkward for the club, but will they really let go of a player with such immense talent? It’s easy to forget that he’s still 22 and his best years are definitely ahead of him.

DON’T MISS | Watch: Plucky schoolgirl leaves Gareth Bale for dead, nutmegs Dele Alli in BT Sport advert

With Alexis Sanchez looking rejuvenated in the summer and Lukaku coming off the back of a solid World Cup, Martial could form a formidable front three with them, in theory at least.

MUST READ | Manchester United vs Real Madrid: Jose Mourinho reacts to Red Devils’ 2-1 win

The transfer deadline is exactly a week away and while Martial’s agent has made it clear that his client wants a move, he may just have to stick around for another year since United are unlikely to sign an attacking player now.

Advertisement