The Frenchman has not played a single minute of football since the interim manager took charge at Old Trafford.
Manchester United forward Anthony Martial has denied he refused to travel with the squad for Saturday’s 2-2 draw at Aston Villa.
Interim boss Ralf Rangnick said Martial had declined the opportunity to be part of the matchday squad in Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcus Rashford’s absence following the final whistle at Villa Park.
The coach made this claim after previously confirming the 26-year-old Frenchman’s desire to leave Old Trafford in January.
🗣 "He didn't want to be in the squad."
Ralf Rangnick confirms that Anthony Martial would've been included in the Man United squad had the player not refused pic.twitter.com/xTdBAWeJ9A
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) January 16, 2022
What did Rangnick say?
“[Martial] didn’t want to be in the squad,” said the coach in a post-match press conference.
“He would have been in the squad normally, but he didn’t want to. That is the reason why he was not traveling with us [on Friday].”
Martial hits out on social media
Taking to Instagram Stories before midnight on Friday, Martial denied the claim and added that he would not ‘disrespect the club and fans’.
The forward posted: “I will never refuse to play a match for Man United. I’ve been here for seven years and I never disrespected, and will never disrespect, the club and the fans.”
Sevilla, Juventus, and Newcastle are reportedly interested in signing Martial in this month’s transfer window.
As for the match, Bruno Fernandes handed United a two-goal lead before a late Villa comeback salvaged the hosts a point. New signing Philippe Coutinho scored the equalizing goal on his debut.
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