Man Utd situation made Martial lose his joy for football

Anthony Martial says that he lost "a little bit" of his love for football during his time with Manchester United, with the Frenchman suggesting he feels reborn on loan at Sevilla.

The Red Devils attacker made a short-term switch to La Liga in the January transfer window after struggling to hold down a place under former boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer across the first half of last season.

Now, the forward has spoken about his dissatisfaction with life at Old Trafford, while revealing that he was always set on forcing a move elsewhere in the new year.

What has been said?

"For me, it was the best option to play and enjoy football again," Martial stated, as quoted by the Daily Mail. "I lost it a little bit in Manchester because I was not playing.

"I feel very good in Sevilla. The city is very good and we are a good team so, for me, it's perfect. I'm playing so I'm happy. But I'm here just until the end of the season and that's it.

"I asked United to leave because I wanted to play. I still have a contract but they know what I want, so we will see at the end of the season. When [Ralf Rangnick] arrived, my objective was to leave. I told him I wanted to leave. I wanted to have a new atmosphere and a new club."

The bigger picture

Martial's future will be assessed again in the summer, with it not being clear if he'll continue at Sevilla, seek a move elsewhere or stay and fight for his place at Old Trafford.

Before that, however, he'll be hoping to help the Spanish side into the next stage of the Europa League, with Sevilla facing West Ham in the last 16 second leg on March 17.

Manchester United, meanwhile, also face an uncertain summer.

The Red Devils have failed to secure silverware in the 2021-22 campaign after being dumped out of the Champions League by Atletico Madrid, while their top-four prospects are anything but secure.

Indeed, the club will need to press on with the appointment of a new manager in the summer, with Ralf Rangnick due to vacate his interim role.

Further reading

• Scholes eviscerates Rangnick with 'six games' comment
• Rangnick calls out 'curious' refereeing in Atletico loss
• Five years, no trophies: Man Utd's latest UCL exit a new low