Following his comments criticizing former United manager Jose Mourinho, former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan dubbed Anthony Martial an “entitled nitwit.”
Martial, 26, slammed Mourinho for surrendering his No.9 shirt to Zlatan Ibrahimovic in July 2016 in an angry interview with France Football. After being compelled to wear the No.11 jersey for three years, the Frenchman was eventually able to reclaim his favorite jersey.
Mourinho was also chastised by Martial for “talking about me in the press,” accusing him of playing games, and for signing Alexis Sanchez in January 2018. He believes Sanchez’s arrival contributed to his exclusion from France’s World Cup squad in 2018, which they won.
Jordan, on the other hand, is not impressed by Martial’s remarks. “So basically – you arrogant, entitled little nitwit – your manager given you an opportunity to view his way of thinking, and you perceived that as treachery,” he told talkSPORT.
“And you then move it along and you take a swipe at Ole Gunnar Solskjaer… This kind of view and demeanor, does it not dazzle you a little and lead you into the story of why people have such a negative opinion of footballers at times, the lack of self awareness?”
Martial joined United from Monaco in August 2015, shortly after being voted the Golden Boy, Europe’s greatest young footballer. Since then, he’s shown flashes of his talent but has yet to deliver consistently in the Premier League.
Martial has 79 goals in 270 appearances for United, winning the FA Cup, EFL Cup, Europa League, and Community Shield, although only eight have come since September 2020. He scored once while on loan at Sevilla in the second half of the season.
After a strong preseason, much was anticipated of Martial this season, but he’s only played once due to an Achilles injury. When he returns, the 30-cap international will contend for a starting spot with Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcus Rashford.
“He stunk the place out at Sevilla last year, so this is not him, the dynamic is not him, it’s everybody else,” Jordan continued. It’s everyone else’s fault but his.” So it wasn’t his fault, but Mourinho’s. It wasn’t his fault; it was the fault of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. I’m guessing it was too hot in Sevilla, therefore it wasn’t his fault. At what point does someone tell this guy to “shut up?”
“The tale did not start well [with the shirt controversy] He disrespected me, straight up,” Martial stated of his relationship with Mourinho. He was quoted in the press regarding me. He enjoys these games, but he is also aware of who he is playing them with.
“He knows I was 20 years old at the time, and that if I say anything, I will be the young person who lacks respect.” I was the team’s top scorer in the first half of the second season [at United], then he brought in Alexis Sanchez and I barely played anymore. It was really expensive for me. I should have gone to the 2018 World Cup.”