The Argentinian central defender was clearly unhappy with his and his teammates' performance at the Metropolitano, though his ire extended way beyond that.
Martinez didn't hold back
In his post-match interview, Martinez let rip and went for the jugular with regard to the United board.
He managed to rein his verbosity in somewhat, though he left the interviewer and anyone watching in absolutely no doubt as to his expectations of the club itself.
Any board members watching on would likely have bristled at being called out in such a public manner, and that might explain why there have already been rumblings that the 28-year-old is unlikely to have his contract renewed, nor the year option on his current deal taken up.
A deal runs out at the end of the 2026/27 season, meaning that Martinez would ultimately be free to talk to other clubs from January.
Argentinian has form
It shouldn't be overlooked, of course, that the player had wanted to join Atletico Madrid in the summer, but no bid was forthcoming.
He also has form in this regard, too. At Ajax in 2022, when seemingly wanting a move away, he took aim at sporting director Gerry Hamstra, calling him a "nobody."
It's interesting, then, that it's United's sporting director, Jason Wilcox, who has borne the brunt of Martinez's pointed comments this time.
Were the Red Devils to decide to move the player on, how badly could it affect the squad?
Great in some areas, average in others
Since the start of the 2024/25 season, he's made 58 appearances in all competitions, 14 fewer than both Leny Yoro and Harry Maguire.
Martinez has scored two own goals in that time, more than any other United player, and made 85 tackles, winning 51 of them, for a completion rate of 60%.
Maguire's 61.19% and Matthijs De Ligt's 68.75% tackle success are better than their colleagues', with the likes of Yoro (56.52%), Jonny Evans (56.25%) and Ayden Heaven (52.78%) all slightly worse off.
If we look at interceptions made, Martinez's 66 are again trumped by Maguire (78) and Yoro (72), whilst headed clearances aren't even a contest given the Argentinian's diminutive stature.
His 75 pale in comparison to Maguire's 171, De Ligt's 113, and even the output of United's full-backs, with Diogo Dalot (114) and Noussair Mazraoui (116) all making more. Even Yoro's 80 headed clearances are slightly ahead of his defensive partner.
The one area where Martinez wins out is with regard to his winning back of possession, which is something he's managed to do on 227 separate occasions since the start of 24/25.
None of his defensive colleagues come close, and only a handful of players, including the likes of Manuel Ugarte and Casemiro in central midfield, can boast a better return.
In terms of Martinez's one-on-one duel success, the centre-back has won 185 from 306 contested, giving him a 60.46% success rating.
To give context, there are 17 other players - including Yoro, De Ligt, Maguire, Dalot, Luke Shaw and Mazraoui - who have contested more duels than the 28-year-old, which doesn't speak well of a player who is believed to enjoy the physical aspects of the game; however, they don't have as good a success rating.
Victor Lindelof and Yoro have a better pass completion rate than Martinez's 90.31%, but it must be borne in mind that the Argentinian's 3,540 attempted passes are almost 3,000 more than Lindelof's (755) and almost 1,000 more than Yoro's 1,612.
Could injuries hold him back?
Despite the strength of his outburst, Martinez deserves a place in the United XI, and the Red Devils' back four will likely be weaker without him in it.
One other major issue is how injury-prone the player has become.
Since the start of 24/25, he has had two separate calf injuries, a back problem, a serious knee problem and an unspecified injury.
The club could, if they so wished, still get a pretty penny for his services, though they would need to invest it wisely should they decide upon doing just that.
Were they to try and smooth things over, with the player also accepting of the position, then it will be interesting to see how much of a chord Martinez's words struck with the powers that be.
Jason Pettigrove has been the features writer for Flashscore since 2025, utilising Opta data to form the basis of his articles. He has previously worked for high-profile football clubs, news and media outlets, both in print and digital, and can usually be found watching FC Barcelona when time permits. You can read more of his pieces here.
