Simon Jordan has taken a swipe at Manchester United forward Anthony Martial for being an ‘entitled nitwit’ follow the player’s recent comments on former managers Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Martial, 26, has struggled to cement a place in the United line-up in recent years and last season joined Sevilla on a 6-month loan spell. He didn’t pull up trees in Spain but looked rejuvenated under Erik ten Hag during the pre-season tour.
Sadly, injuries took their toll and Martial has missed most games this season. The reason it’s sad is because it looked like Ten Hag was working towards something – without Cristiano Ronaldo and with Marcus Rashford interchanging from a wide position.
But Martial drew the spotlight on himself when he gave an interview to France Football recently. He clearly felt let down by Mourinho and Solskjaer.
When asked about his relationship with Mourinho, Martial said (via Daily Mail and RMC Sport): “The story did not start well [with the shirt saga – when Mourinho took the No 9 shirt off Martial to give to Zlatan Ibrahimovic].
“He disrespected me, straight up… He was talking about me in the press. He likes these games, but he also knows who he is doing it with.
“He knows that I am 20-years-old then and that if I say something, it is I who will be the young person who lacks respect.
“The second season [at United], I was the team’s top scorer in the first part of the season, he brought in Alexis Sanchez and I hardly played anymore. It cost me dearly. I should have been there [the 2018 World Cup].”
When it came to Solskjaer, who was sacked last year prior to Martial’s loan spell, he complained that he played during injuries.
“I regularly played injured. People don’t know it, I couldn’t accelerate during the four months following the Covid season.
“The coach tells me he needs me, so I play. But, given my game, if I can’t accelerate, it becomes very complicated all the same. The coach never bothered to tell the media.
“Obviously, I ended up getting injured for good and when I came back, finished, I didn’t play anymore. I took it very badly, I had a feeling of injustice, you are asked to sacrifice yourself for the team and behind the scenes you are dismissed.
“For me, it’s almost treachery. That’s all I hate. I can be blamed, but not for being fake.”
Speaking to talkSPORT about Martial’s comments, Jordan hit out at the United forward, claiming that such accusations risked tarnishing a lot of professional footballers.
“So basically – you arrogant, entitled little nitwit – your manager offered you an opportunity to see his way of thinking, you perceived that as being treachery,” Jordan said.
“And you then move it along and you take a swipe at Ole Gunnar Solskjaer… This sort of outlook and disposition, does it not stagger you a little bit and steer into the narrative that people have such a low opinion of footballers sometimes, the lack of self-awareness?”
SN’s verdict
I think Jordan’s comments are harsh as per usual. He often plays devil’s advocate and football shows that focus on the Premier League have had little to speak about in recent days… He also appears to be angry and outraged by everything!
There is a worrying trend growing, though, since Martial had a run in or two with Ralf Rangnick before being sent on loan. And he wasn’t deemed a success during his time in Spain.
Martial has a lot to prove. I hope he makes Jordan eat his words.
