Manchester United's Argentine defender Lisandro Martinez has justified his fiery comments aimed at the club's management following the defeat to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.
The row at Old Trafford keeps growing. Beaten 2-0 by Atletico Madrid in the Champions League, Martinez caused a major stir by publicly criticising the club's management, sporting director Jason Wilcox in particular.
Those comments did not go down well inside the club. The Argentine responded with a lengthy statement on his Instagram account, the 28-year-old clarifying his remarks without offering an apology.
Lisandro said: "After the match, I spoke in a moment of anger and frustration at not achieving the result we had all hoped for. My words reflect my feelings and how much I want to see this club competing for the biggest titles."
He explained: "When I say I want more, I am talking about the ambition we must all have inside this club. These are demands we must set for all of us, starting with myself."
Martinez also accepted that the players carry their share of the blame for the poor results, while backing his team-mates and manager Michael Carrick.
That peace offering may not be enough. According to Sky Sports, his comments sparked anger and resentment among the club's management and his fellow players, and one team-mate confronted him directly on the plane home. Several were unhappy at his criticism of the team's quality.
United have not yet decided whether to take disciplinary action, but the defender's future at Old Trafford now looks uncertain.
His contract expires next summer. United hold the option to extend it by another season, though no decision has been taken.
All this comes with the club planning to sign new defenders at centre-back and left-back in the upcoming transfer windows. British media report that Martinez wanted out last summer to join Atletico Madrid and team up with compatriot Cristian Romero, only for United's hierarchy to receive no satisfactory offers.
That could now weigh heavily on the talks over his future.