MANCHESTER, England (AP) – Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez invited Paul Scholes to his home to speak to him in person after he was mocked by the club’s greats ahead of a great performance. Derby victory against Manchester City.
Appearing on a podcast ahead of Saturday’s derby, Scholes and fellow former United player Nicky Butt criticized how he thought Martinez would be outclassed by City striker Erling Haaland.
Butt said Haaland “picked up Martinez and ran with him” and acted like “a father running down the street with a young toddler after school.” Scholes said the Norwegian would “put him (Martinez) in the net” after the goal.
As a result, United defeated City 2-0, limiting their fierce rivals to just one shot on target.
After the match, when Scholes’ comments were relayed to Martinez, the Argentine defender said: “No, to be honest, he can say whatever he wants. I already told him that if he wants to say something to me, he can come wherever he wants. To my house, wherever. I don’t care.”
“And for me, I think when they want to help the club, they respect that relationship. On TV, everyone can talk, but when you meet[them]here, no one says anything to their face.”
When asked if his pre-match comments gave him more motivation, Martinez said: “No, nothing. It doesn’t give me anything. My motivation is my family. That’s it.”
On Sunday, Scholes responded to Martinez’s comments by posting on his Instagram Stories: “Someone had a good game. So happy. Tea, no sugar please… @lisandromartinezzz.”
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