Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez has been told to ‘grow up’ by Old Trafford greats Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt after his scathing response to their criticism.
Martinez challenged Scholes to come to his house to speak to him after the former England midfielder and his ex-United teammate Butt mocked the Argentine’s height.
Scholes and Butt joked during Saturday’s derby about the centre-back’s slim chances of winning his duels with towering Manchester City striker Erling Haaland.
The pair joked that Haaland would pick up Martinez and “run with him.”
But Martinez had the last laugh with an impressive performance in United’s 2-0 win, followed by his stinging response to criticism from Scholes and Butt.
The former United duo will address Martinez’s comments on Monday in the latest episode of their podcast The Good, The Bad and The Football.
Scholes praised Martinez’s performance but said he still has some doubts about the 28-year-old.
“It feeds people,” he said of criticism. “I think we have to take some credit for Martinez’s performance on Saturday.
“He played a brilliant game but when you start talking and shouting your mouth off, this game has a habit of coming back to bite you.
«I haven’t changed my mind yet. I’m still not sure you can win a competition with him. He has to do it over a period of time. What he did on Saturday, brilliant, but you have to do it over a period of time.»
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Scholes claimed he had exchanged messages with Martinez on social media and given the player his phone number but had “heard nothing”.
And Butt said Martinez’s response to their comments raised questions about his mentality.
“It’s an ironic comment, it’s clear Haaland doesn’t actually pick him up and run with him, it’s a figure of speech,” he said. “I think for someone to get so upset about something in the media or a podcast… to come out and say, ‘Come to my house,’ it’s adulting.
“Literally, if you get that emotional when someone says something about you, you shouldn’t be working at a big football club because that’s what you’re going to get at Man United for the rest of your career.
«There is no personal problem between us and Martinez.»
Published on January 20, 2026
