Martial won't keep quiet anymore: Mourinho and Solskjaer killed me

Frustration, frustration and some more frustration. That's how Anthony Martial's career at Manchester United can be summed up. After a bright start and the 17 scored goals in his first season at Old Trafford, he was banished to the bench as soon as Jose Mourinho replaced Louis Van Gaal as head coach. And he's yet to get going again.

Speaking to France Football, Martial accused Mourinho of lacking respect for him, especially after giving his number nine shirt away to Zlatan Ibrahimovic without his permission.

"Mourinho talked about me in the press, little phrases, a bit like he had done with Karim Benzema at Real Madrid. He likes these little games. He knows that I am then 20 years old, that if I say something, it is I who will pass for the young person who lacks respect. So I said nothing, it was useless. The following season, I was the best in the team in the first part of the season, he brought in Alexis Sanchez and there I hardly played anymore."

Martial also blamed the Portuguese for missing out on France's 2018 World Cup squad, a tournament Didier Deschamps' side went on to win.

When Solskjaer replaced Mourinho in December 2018, Martial was optimistic about his future, especially after the Norwegian began using him ahead of Romelu Lukaku as the focal point of United's attack - but when he was asked to play through an injury for four months, their relationship turned sour.

"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."

Solskjaer was sacked mid-way through last season, though his replacement Ralf Rangnick barely gave Martial a look in, and he left for Sevilla on loan in January. Things haven't got much better since Erik Ten Hag arrived, either. The Dutchman has used Martial just once in seven games so far this season, as a second-half substitute during the club's 2-1 win over Liverpool last month. The question is - what happens now for Martial?