Anthony Martial has taken savage swipes at former Manchester United managers Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, accusing both of mistreating him during their Old Trafford reigns.
French forward Martial became the most expensive teenager in history at the time when he completed a September 2015 move worth up to £58million (€69m) from Monaco.
Signed by Louis van Gaal, he spent less than a year playing under the Dutchman, with whom he said he had "a great relationship".
Mourinho was Van Gaal's successor, appointed in May 2016, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic was among the first signings by the new boss.
According to Martial, his problems with Mourinho "started with the story of the jersey number", saying he unwillingly gave up the number nine to Swedish star Ibrahimovic.
"During the holidays, he [Mourinho] sends me a message to ask me if I want to change to the 11, explaining to me that it is great because it is that of the legend Ryan Giggs," Martial told France Football magazine.
"I tell him that I have the greatest respect for Giggs, but I prefer to keep the nine. And when I return to the club, I see my jersey with the 11, the story didn't start well. He lacked direct respect for me."
Martial said Mourinho, who is now boss of Roma, began to use "little phrases, a bit like he had done with Karim Benzema at Real [Madrid]", when talking in the media about Martial.
"He likes these little games, but he also knows who he is doing it with. He knows that I was 20 years old then, and that if I say something it is me who will pass for the young person who lacks respect," Martial said. "So I said nothing, it was useless."
Martial took issue with losing his place to another new recruit, Alexis Sanchez, who joined from Arsenal midway through the 2017-18 season.
"It's the season of the World Cup, and it cost me dearly in the end, especially since the France team won. I should have been there," Martial said.
Mourinho was sacked by United in December 2018, with club favourite Solskjaer coming in as a surprise successor.
France international Martial finished the 2019-20 campaign as United's top scorer with 23 goals, yet he subsequently faded from favour. He claimed Solskjaer mismanaged him after that prolific campaign.
Soon after Solskjaer's dismissal in November 2021, Martial was loaned out to Sevilla, where he scored once in 12 appearances, nine of which were starts.
Martial said he had "regularly played injured" during Solskjaer's reign, claiming the manager failed to make that clear to outsiders as he struggled.
"The coach never bothered to tell the media," said Martial, who remains a United player. "Obviously, I ended up getting injured for good and when I came back I didn't play any more. I took it very badly, I had a feeling of injustice.
"You're asked to sacrifice yourself for the team and afterwards you are dismissed. For me, it's almost treachery."
Julian Nagelsmann to stay on as Germany coach until after 2026 World Cup
Germany head coach Julian Nagelsmann has signed a new contract to extend his role until after the 2026 World Cup.
Former Bayern Munich boss Nagelsmann was appointed in September last year as successor to Hansi Flick, who was sacked after a poor run of results.
The German FA said: “The 36-year-old’s new contract runs until the conclusion of the next FIFA World Cup in 2026 in the USA, Canada and Mexico. In September last year, Nagelsmann initially signed a contract up to and including EURO 2024.”
Germany, who are hosting the European Championships in June and July, have won their last two friendly internationals, beating France 2-0 in Lyon and the Netherlands 2-1 in Frankfurt last month.
Nagelsmann said: “It’s a decision of the heart. It’s a great honour to be able to coach the national team and work with the best players in the country.
“With successful, passionate performances, we have the chance to sweep an entire country along. The two victories against France and the Netherlands in March gave a foretaste of this.
“I was very touched by the enthusiasm of the fans. Together we now want to play a successful home European Championship, we are all burning for it.
“After that, I’m really looking forward to the challenge of a World Cup together with my coaching team.”
Nagelsmann began his managerial career aged 28 at Hoffenheim before securing Champions League football with Leipzig, and succeeded Flick as boss at Bayern Munich in 2021.
Lawrence Shankland dreaming of cup glory with Hearts
Lawrence Shankland is allowing himself to dream of adorning his already distinguished Hearts career with Scottish Cup glory as he targets semi-final revenge on Rangers this Sunday.
In less than two seasons at Tynecastle, the 28-year-old Scotland forward has firmly established himself as a hero in the eyes of supporters by notching 56 goals for the Jambos.
But Shankland knows captaining Hearts to their first silverware in 12 years would elevate his status at the club even further.
“It would be amazing,” he said. “You’re allowed to dream when you’re at this stage.
“The semi-final, one step away from a final, it’s obviously something you’re looking at. But you need to concentrate on the task at hand first and if you can get by that, you can continue to dream.
“All trophies help the status of not just me but the full team. You go down as a team that gets remembered if you can get your hands on a trophy so the boys will have that in their heads and that’s what we’ll look to do.
“It’s a great opportunity for us, it’s one we are all looking forward to and we need to go into it with a real positive outlook.”
Shankland was at Hampden for each of Hearts’ previous two Scottish Cup triumphs in 2006 and 2012.
“I was working at the 2012 final (against Hibernian) with Queen’s Park (where he was a young player) handing out the programmes,” he recalled. “And the one before that, against Gretna, I was at Hearts as a kid and got tickets through the club.
“I met the Gretna owner Brooks Mileson outside the ground and got a photo with him. Good memories, so hopefully we can go back this year and get our hands on the cup.”
Hearts’ last visit to Hampden brought a 3-1 defeat to Rangers in the semi-final of the Viaplay Cup in early November.
However, since that setback, at a time when they were struggling in the league, Steven Naismith’s side have found much improved form over the past six months and motored 11 points clear in third place in the cinch Premiership.
“The last time at Hampden we came away with a bit of regret,” said Shankland. “We felt we didn’t really put our stamp on the game and we let it bypass us, which was really disappointing.
“That was something we can learn from though, so hopefully we can implement what we’ve been working on this time.”
While Hearts go into the semi-final buoyed by back-to-back wins over St Mirren and Livingston, Rangers have won only two of their last eight matches in all competitions and have been heavily criticised as their title bid has unravelled in recent weeks.
“Obviously they’ve been going through a wee sticky spell but we know it’s going to be difficult,” said Shankland. “It’s a Scottish Cup semi-final, it’s away from league duty, so they will get a lift from that.
“If you look too much into their form, you could get caught. Rangers are obviously a good team and have been for the last wee while.
“Of course form maybe drops off a wee bit but it’s just the scrutiny of our league and how high the pressure is for the two teams at the top of the league that adds to it.
“I don’t think we can look at it too much. We’ll analyse Rangers as we know them, and the last time we played them at Ibrox, they gave us a bit of a doing (5-0), so that’s something we’ll need to be wary of.”
Arsenal have ‘great’ title chance if they can avoid injuries – David Seaman
David Seaman believes a clean bill of health could be the difference between Arsenal winning the Premier League and falling short this season.
The Gunners are two points behind Manchester City after losing to Aston Villa last weekend but can return to the summit if they win at Wolves on Saturday.
The three-way tussle with reigning champions City and a Liverpool side which are losing manager Jurgen Klopp at the end of the campaign promises to be a title showdown for the ages.
The picture shifts after every round of fixtures and, with just six games remaining, the slightest of margins could determine the destination of the trophy.
Both Arsenal and Liverpool slipped up last week to allow City to lead the way, while Champions League quarter-final defeat to Bayern Munich has also hit Mikel Artete’s side.
But, for former Arsenal and City goalkeeper Seaman, Arsenal need to be able to call upon their best players in the closing weeks if they are to win a first league crown in 20 years.
They lost centre-back William Saliba in the run-in last season and were ultimately reeled in by a City side which went on to win the treble.
“Am I confident? Yes, there’s three teams in it and, so long as Arsenal keep their players fit, then we’ve got a great chance,” Seaman said.
“Our squad is not as big as Liverpool’s is and City’s is, but if Arsenal can keep everyone fit and ready, we’ve got a great chance.
“We struggled last year through injuries, but now we’re at a different level at Arsenal, we are contenders whereas before we sometimes celebrated getting in the top four.
“But now we’re in contention every season so that shows the improvement in the team.”
Seaman will once again work with the England goalkeepers as a coach during this year’s Soccer Aid for UNICEF in June.
The 60-year-old collected 75 caps for the Three Lions during his own playing career and has played a role in working closely with current England and Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.
David Raya has been Arteta’s first choice since September following his move from Brentford and, while Seaman insists Ramsdale is “too good” to be a back-up goalkeeper, he has been impressed with the Spaniard.
“When David came in, he found it tough, he came from Brentford to play for Arsenal and that is next-level pressure,” he added.
“Plus, he overtook Aaron who was a fan’s favourite, but he’s found his feet now, his distribution at the back is brilliant and Arsenal have got two really, really good goalkeepers – how you keep them both happy, I have no idea!”
:: Soccer Aid for Unicef 2024 takes place on 9th June at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge, with tickets available at www.socceraid.org.uk/tickets
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