Rio Ferdinand Reveals Chat With Lisandro Martinez After Paul Scholes Clash
Rio Ferdinand reveals the conversation he had with Lisandro Martinez amid his war of words with Manchester United legend Paul Scholes.
After helping United to an impressive 2-0 derby win over Manchester City, Martinez called out Scholes and former midfield partner Nicky Butt following their criticism on the Good, Bad and Football podcast.
Butt had said that Martinez coming up against Premier League top scorer Erling Haaland would be "like when you see a dad at school running down with a little toddler".
Scholes joined in on the mocking and added, "He'll score then throw him in the net".
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However, Martinez had a stellar game at Old Trafford, stopping both Haaland and City from scoring with an imperious defensive display.
Completely ineffective and with just 15 touches, the Norwegian was substituted for youngster Divine Mukasa in the second half.
Afterwards, a furious Martinez went after Scholes and invited him to come to his house "if he wants to say something".
"Honestly, he can say whatever he wants," Martinez said.
"I told him already, if he wants to say something to me, he can come to me wherever he wants. To my house, wherever. I don't care.
"I think, for me, I respect the relations when they want to help the club because everyone can talk on the television. But when you see (them) here face-to-face, no one says anything in your face."
Scholes responded on a new episode of his podcast with Butt and Paddy McGuiness. Though he gave credit to the Argentine for his performance, he also revealed that the two had "exchanged messages on Instagram quite some time ago".
Martinez had taken issue with something the former England midfielder had said and claimed that he had "lost all respect" for Scholes.
The 51-year-old revealed that he had given Martinez his phone number but never heard anything.
But he has also been in conversation with another United legend in Ferdinand, who revealed that he also had an invitation from Martinez but that he had positive relations with the former Ajax man.
Ferdinand called Martinez an "honest character" and believes his comments were taken slightly out of context.
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He explained that he had a quick conversation with him following the triumph on Saturday lunchtime, with Martinez adamant that United need to kick on.
"I have spoken to Martinez a few times, online and in person, and he is someone who just wants to do well, win, get back to the standards Man United were at," Ferdinand said on his Rio Presents podcast.
"He is eager to see that that looks like. He has even invited me to go to the training ground, go and get a coffee - he is a sponge. The way he plays is the way I feel he is - he is an honest character and a good sort to have in the changing room.
"He is within his rights, if something gets on his nerves... he has come out and said it. The way it has been taken I think needs some context. He is not saying, 'Come and meet me anywhere and we will have a tear up' - he is saying, "Let's have a conversation face to face is you have an issue'.
"We are talking about a World Cup winner here, he knows how to win. I had a conversation with him after the game and he was quick and clear - we have a standard now and need momentum. What I would say is, when you are talking about people, if you feel you can say the same thing in front of them, then it is fair game."
United chiefs are believed to be unhappy about the comments made by Scholes and Butt, deeming their jibe to be an "attempt to mock Martinez" rather than constructive criticism.
Scholes acknowledged that the pair "could have worded it better" but were "just having a laugh".
Topics: Rio Ferdinand, Lisandro Martinez, Paul Scholes, Man Utd
Josh Lawless