Martinez told to 'f***ing grow up' by ex-Man Utd star following social media row

Martin Macdonald

• 20 Jan 2026 05:30 CST
• 5 min read

Nieuws

Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez has been told to grow up by ex-midfielder Nicky Butt as the pair, along with Paul Scholes, continue their online feud.

Prior to the derby against Manchester City on Sunday, Butt warned that superstar striker Erling Haaland would bully Martinez and facetiously said he would pick him up "like a toddler" during the game due to the size differences.

The Red Devils actually won the game 2-0 and Martinez was magnificent at the back, with he and Harry Maguire combining to ensure Haaland had a quiet afternoon.

That performance gave the centre-back the confidence to hit back at Butt and Scholes, as when asked about the comments, he replied:

"Honestly, he can say whatever he wants. 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.

🗣️ "We exchanged messages on Instagram... I sent him my phone number, I've not heard anything from him!"

Paul Scholes & Nicky Butt break their silence on the Lisandro Martinez controversy! 👀 pic.twitter.com/kvNQAE491Y

— The Good, The Bad & The Football (@goodbadftblpod) January 19, 2026

"So I don't really care what they say. I just put the focus on my performance, the performance of the team and I give everything to this club until my last day."

Butt and Scholes respond

Butt didn't take too kindly to the response and believes that the Man Utd star needs to have much thicker skin if he is going to succeed at Old Trafford.

“First and foremost, he was brilliant on the day and fair play to him. He's gone out and gone man-to-man against probably the best centre-forward in the world, possibly," the Class of 92 star said on The Good, The Bad and the Football podcast.

"Him and Harry [Maguire], to be fair, were brilliant, so we could come on here now and say, 'Brilliant, well done.' But that is what is expected from a Man United player on derby day.

“For me, we are a podcast, and we talk like three lads in a pub having a conversation, we are not on Sky doing commentary on a game. It is tongue in cheek, and it is quite obvious that Haaland is not going to pick him up and run with him. It is f***ing obvious. It is a figure of speech.

“I just think when someone gets so upset about someone in the media or on a podcast saying something about them, to come out and basically say they can say what they want and all that, f***ing grow up.

“It is literally if you are going to get so emotional about someone saying something and come out and react like that, you shouldn't be at a big football club because I am telling you now, he is going to get that for the rest of his career at Manchester United.

🗣️ "I did Spanish at school... they didn't teach me them words" 🤣🇦🇷

Paddy ends the chapter with some lovely words to Lisandro Martinez ❤️ pic.twitter.com/YmFxHf0NF4

— The Good, The Bad & The Football (@goodbadftblpod) January 20, 2026

“You get your ups and downs and I got so much crap when I played at Man United and Newcastle, but then next week you get your plaudits and you get clapped at. There is no personal issue with us and Martinez. None.

“He's telling us to come knock on his house. I'm f*cking 50 years of age, I'm not going knocking on someone's house saying, 'Can we have a chat?' It's just ridiculous. And, if you're going to get that precious, you better be sh*t hot every week.”

Scholes went on to reveal that he and Martinez had previously exchanged messages on Instagram about comments he had made previously.

“Look, we exchanged messages on Instagram quite some time ago. Yeah, he weren't happy with something I said, I can’t remember what it was, and he just said that he lost all respect for me," he confirmed.

“I wouldn't have said this normally, but he's come out and said stuff, so why not? He said he lost all kinds of respect for me. When we got stick as players, you look at it and remember it. We used it as fuel, you don't go answering back.”

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