Manchester United were once rocked by tensions between player and manager after the star forward abandoned pre-season to witness the birth of his son
Former Manchester United star Anthony Martial once angered Jose Mourinho when he failed to report back for pre-season. Martial, 30, left United’s summer tour of the United States in 2018 to be present for the birth of his second child.
However, Mourinho was taken aback when his former charge remained in France to be with his family. The result was Martial being fined £180,000 (two weeks’ wages) and facing public scrutiny from his old boss.
Martial, who ended up leaving United on a free transfer in 2024, missed a 4-1 friendly defeat by Liverpool in Chicago that summer but was expected to report back for games against Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. Instead, he took an extended break to be with his partner during her recovery.
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As Michael Carrick prepares to oversee his first pre-season at the United helm, he can only hope to avoid such issues this summer. Thankfully for him, the fact United are only touring Europe this summer should avoid any such problems.
Speaking to MUTV after the Liverpool loss eight years ago, Mourinho said of the Frenchman: “He has the baby and after the baby is born – beautiful baby, full of health, thank god.
“He should be here and he is not here. Now we have Real Madrid and after that we have Bayern Munich and that is our start.
“I just hope the boys on deserved holidays, they take care of themselves a little bit and somebody wants to do what [Marcus] Rashford and [Phil] Jones do, which is to be back a little bit earlier to try and help the team because for the beginning of the season we are going to be in trouble.”
Martial, who is now playing for Monterrey in Mexico, soon issued a response of his own amid the frustration at his absence. And the forward doubled down on his actions, saying his “family will always come first.”
“Thanks for all your posts,” he wrote. “My little girl is fine, for the mum it was harder but thank god she is better now. Sorry but my family will always come first. Back tomorrow in Manchester.”
That wasn’t the only point of contention between the pair, either, after Martial confirmed their issues started when Mourinho first arrived in 2016. The Special One made the decision to take Martial’s preferred No. 9 jersey and give it to new arrival Zlatan Ibrahimovic, which left its mark.
“It started with the story of the number,” he told France Football in 2022. “During the holidays, he sends me a message to ask me if I want to take 11, explaining to me that it’s great, because it’s legend Ryan [Giggs’ number].
“I tell him that I have the greatest respect for Giggs, but that I prefer to keep my number nine. When I return to the club, I see my jersey with the number 11, the story did not start well [laughs ]. He disrespected me, straight up.”
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