Football Jan 25, 2026

Paul Scholes tells Lisandro Martinez to 'grow up' over criticism but praises performance in Manchester derby

👤
By Admin
Sports Journalist
Paul Scholes tells Lisandro Martinez to 'grow up' over criticism but praises performance in Manchester derby

Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt have continued their war of words with Manchester United's Lisandro Martinez, with Butt telling the Argentine to "grow up" over his response to criticism.

After playing his part in United's 2-0 win over City at Old Trafford, to speak to him face-to-face after he and Nicky Butt had mocked the defender's size before his battle with Erling Haaland, suggesting the Norwegian would "pick him up and run with him".

Scholes said he had previously exchanged messages with Martinez on social media and given the player his phone number but had "not heard anything".

But responding directly to Martinez's comments on the latest edition of his The Good, The Bad and The Football podcast, Scholes' joint-host and former team-mate Butt said: "It's tongue-in-cheek, it's obvious Haaland isn't actually going to pick him up and run with him, it's a figure of speech," he said.

"I think when someone gets so upset about something in the media or a podcast…to come out and say, 'Come over to my house', f****** grow up.

"Literally, if you're going to get so emotional about someone saying something about you, you shouldn't be at a big football club because you'll get that for the rest of your career at Man United.

"I got so much crap when I played at United and Newcastle, but the next week you get plaudits and clapped at. There's no personal issue with us and Martinez, none."

Scholes praised Martinez's display but said he still has some doubts about the 28-year-old.

"It fuels people," he said of criticism. "I think we have to take a bit of the credit for Martinez's performance on Saturday!"

But he then warned: "He's had one brilliant game, but when you start talking and shouting your mouth off, this game has a habit of coming and biting you back on the a***.

"I haven't changed my opinion yet. I'm still not sure you can win a league with him. He's got to do it over a period of time. What he did on Saturday, brilliant, but you've got to do it over a period of time."

Butt said Martinez's reaction to their comments raised questions about his mentality.

Butt pointed to the experience that he and the rest of United's 'Class of 92' had when Alan Hansen famously said on Match of the Day "you can't win anything with kids". A teenager at the time, Butt said that taught him to deal with criticism.

"I was 18, not 26 or 27," he said. "I didn't want to go out of the house for weeks, but you man up and go and prove people wrong."

Tags:

football news

Share this article

Related Posts

Leicester City 1-2 Oxford United: Pressure ramps up on Marti Cifuentes as U's win

Leicester City 1-2 Oxford United: Pressure ramps up on Marti Cifuentes as U's win

Oxford earned a maiden win under recently-appointed boss Matt Bloomfield as the U's claimed a 2-1 victory away at Leicester, heaping the pressure on u...

Queens Park Rangers 2-3 Wrexham: Red Dragons nick stunning last-ditch turnaround win

Queens Park Rangers 2-3 Wrexham: Red Dragons nick stunning last-ditch turnaround win

Wrexham scored twice in stoppage time to come from behind and pull off an incredible 3-2 victory at QPR.After Harvey Vale's early opener, Callum Doyle...

Fulham 2-1 Brighton: Harry Wilson scores 92nd-minute free-kick in second-half turnaround to earn late victory

Fulham 2-1 Brighton: Harry Wilson scores 92nd-minute free-kick in second-half turnaround to earn late victory

Harry Wilson scored a 92nd-minute winner from a free-kick as Fulham produced a second-half turnaround to earn a 2-1 victory over Brighton, who have wo...

Women's sports biggest moments in 2025: From Lionesses and Red Roses glory to India success and emergence of new stars!

Women's sports biggest moments in 2025: From Lionesses and Red Roses glory to India success and emergence of new stars!

This year was set to be a big year for women's sports and it certainly lived up to those expectations with endless success from female athletes.From t...

Burnley 2-2 Tottenham: Cristian Romero's last-gasp goal spares under-pressure Spurs boss Thomas Frank's blushes

Burnley 2-2 Tottenham: Cristian Romero's last-gasp goal spares under-pressure Spurs boss Thomas Frank's blushes

Cristian Romero's 90th-minute equaliser spared under-pressure Tottenham boss Thomas Frank an embarrassing defeat at second-bottom Burnley as the defen...

Man Utd: Roy Keane calls for Eddie Howe to succeed Ruben Amorim at Old Trafford as Gary Neville tells club to 'remove risks' in search

Man Utd: Roy Keane calls for Eddie Howe to succeed Ruben Amorim at Old Trafford as Gary Neville tells club to 'remove risks' in search

Roy Keane has called for Eddie Howe to succeed Ruben Amorim at Manchester United, as Gary Neville tells the hierarchy to "remove the risks" while citi...