Michael Carrick sought to draw a line under the controversy caused by Lisandro Martinez’s explosive midweek interview as he insisted it is “not a drama for us as a group”.
Martinez sparked a storm when he launched an attack on the United hierarchy and director of football Jason Wilcox moments after Tuesday’s 2-0 Champions League defeat away to Atletico Madrid, saying he “expects more” from the club’s leadership.
Martinez, 28, issued a public apology on Thursday night after what the Argentina defender said was a “very positive” conversation with Carrick and club chiefs, including Wilcox.
"It's done. We've moved on." 💬
Watch our Friday press conference in full ⤵️
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) October 16, 2026
Although Martinez’s apology was notably more about the timing of his comments than the substance, on Friday Carrick insisted the issue was now considered closed.
“It’s done, really,” Carrick said. “We’ve moved on from that. It was one of those things. He has come out and acknowledged the situation and as a group we have moved on.
“It is really not a drama for us as a group. The boys have trained really well, there was a really good feeling around training this morning.”
Asked if Martinez’s outburst had annoyed him personally, Carrick said: “No, I think I understand emotion at times. I think part of what we ask for, we ask for passion, we ask for emotion, we ask for fire and we ask for players to care.
“There’s a way of doing that and that’s already been acknowledged, but we need to carry that. We need to carry that intensity and that willingness and that togetherness and that spirit and everything else you can bring with that. As a group, we need to use it and we’ve got to use it in the right way.”
Martinez’s outburst laid bare a number of issues at United this season, with Carrick having been unable to build on momentum from the second half of last term, winless in five games going into Sunday’s trip to face old rivals Leeds.
United’s decision to focus entirely on midfield during their summer recruitment, failing to sign a back-up left-back and a second striker, now looks like a mistake given Luke Shaw and Benjamin Sesko have missed time through injury, making Wilcox an obvious target for criticism.
But Carrick insisted behind closed doors there was a “really good feeling within the club”.
“Results-wise it hasn’t gone to plan of late, but the spirit, the togetherness, again I said it but today was one of the better training sessions that we have had,” he said.
“You can see there’s a real sense and a feeling within the group that we want to do something about this situation and want to do something about it quickly.
“There’s a lot of people that say a lot of things, and ex-pros or not ex-pros, it doesn’t necessarily mean you understand what’s going on here.
“The players totally believe me. Just because people talk from the outside, that doesn’t mean that’s the truth. I’m telling you the truth.”
Martinez’s outburst was seen as increasing the pressure on Carrick given the downturn in results, with United’s only wins this season coming over newly-promoted Ipswich at the end of August and minnows Sabah in the Champions League on September 10.
But when asked if he needed results from a personal perspective, Carrick said: “I don’t need results, we all need results. It’s not about me.
“Manchester United is a lot bigger than any individual, bigger than me, bigger than any players, anyone else that works at this football club. I don’t go in every day thinking about me, it’s about the football club. What we stand for, what we live for, the history that we need to live up to.”
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