Overview
- Before the Manchester derby, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt joked on their podcast that Erling Haaland would pick up Lisandro Martinez and throw him in the net.
- After United’s 2-0 win and a strong display from Martinez, the defender invited Scholes to say his views to his face, even offering his home as the venue.
- Scholes replied on Instagram with “Tea, no sugar pls,” then on the podcast told Martinez to grow up, praised his performance, and said he still doubts the defender as a title-winning cornerstone.
- Butt called the reaction overly emotional, repeated that the comments were tongue-in-cheek pub chat, and told Martinez to grow up if he wants to thrive at a big club.
- Rio Ferdinand said parts of the criticism crossed into the personal and backed Martinez’s right to respond, with no face-to-face meeting reported so far.