Man Utd star makes shock retirement admission after injury hell

Man Utd star makes shock retirement admission after injury hell - 'Don’t want to'

Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez spent nine-months on the sidelines and has made a shock retirement claim

Manchester United's defender, Lisandro Martinez, has confessed that he contemplated hanging up his boots and retiring from football after a dreadful ACL injury last year. The 27-year-old was sidelined for nine months following the injury he sustained in a 2-0 loss against Crystal Palace in February.

After undergoing surgery, he missed the end of the previous season and the start of the current one, before making a comeback in the 2-1 victory over Oliver Glasner's team at the end of November. Since his £55million transfer from Ajax to Old Trafford in July 2022, the former Ajax player has had a string of injuries.

Reportedly, the defender was involved in a training ground spat with Ruben Amorim over the Christmas period, just before the Portuguese head coach left Old Trafford. It's alleged that Martinez was pushing for more playing time after being out for the last nine months, asserting that he was ready to contribute to the team.

READ MORE : Ruben Amorim 'was ready to quit' Man Utd just DAYS before £12m sackingREAD MORE : Forgotten Man Utd star set for immediate Michael Carrick talks ahead of future decision

Now, in a candid interview with AFA Estudio, the United defender admits he considered ending his career.

"You feel like you're not a football player anymore," Martinez confessed. "You feel pain and think you'll never play football again.

"A mental and physical imbalance, which, honestly, when I think about it today, I don't know how I did it. I clung to the people around me, my family, my friends.

"After the first two or three weeks, to be honest, I didn't want to play football anymore. And then, of course, you become more aware, you get that support."

Martinez also suffered a fractured metatarsal in April 2023, ruling him out for the rest of that season. He required a second operation on the injury, sidelining him for 180 days across two separate periods.

The injury meant he missed the FA Cup final loss to Man City that campaign, and he was also absent for last year's Europa League final defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.

Discussing his rehabilitation, Martinez said: "You need to not take the easy way out. The easy way out is to just give up and that's it.

"But, I always say, it's in the face of adversity that you show your true character. So I reconnected with myself, I reconnected with my roots, with who I am, with my values, and I gave it my all, day after day.

"For me, it was day by day, a constant struggle, and my match was every day at the gym. Then, well, I had therapy with my psychologist, always trying to improve in every aspect - and then I was clear about what I wanted, right?".

"To try to become the best version of myself, to give my best, to see how far I could go.

"And the truth is that with each passing month, I saw the results, I saw how I was getting stronger, and today, on the pitch, I feel excellent, and I say that thanks to those days, well, of suffering, of not giving up - today we have the results."

Click here to read article