Lisandro Martinez has hit back at Paul Scholes after the Manchester United legend suggested the club should consider moving on from the Argentine defender. Scholes, known for his blunt opinions, included Martinez in a list of players he believes the club should offload as part of a rebuild.
Despite being sidelined with a serious knee injury, Martinez didn’t take the criticism lightly. In response to Scholes’ comments, he fired back on social media, writing in Spanish: “This ‘mufa’ is really hurting…. You put him in Argentina, and he wouldn’t survive.”
In Argentina, “mufa” is a slang term referring to someone who brings bad luck—essentially implying that Scholes’ negativity is unwarranted and baseless.
Scholes made his comments on The Overlap Fan Debate, brought to you by Sky Bet, where he dismissed Martinez’s impact, saying: “Even when he’s fit, he’s not good enough to win the Premier League with.”
The former midfielder also had strong opinions on other United defenders, particularly Matthijs de Ligt. Scholes questioned De Ligt’s ability to be part of a title-winning side, noting his decline since leaving Ajax.
“His age (25) and his amount of clubs already concerns me. He was brilliant at Ajax, but he seems to be getting worse as he gets older. Bayern Munich, Juventus—they let him go for a reason.”
Scholes was similarly skeptical about teenage prospect Leny Yoro but admitted he would give the youngster more time to develop.
Martinez, meanwhile, is expected to be out for the rest of the season and possibly part of the next as he recovers from a cruciate ligament injury sustained against Crystal Palace. Manchester United confirmed his long road to recovery in a statement last week, offering full support as he undergoes rehabilitation.
While Scholes questions Martinez’s long-term value to the team, the Argentine’s response suggests he’s not backing down from proving his doubters wrong.