£57m Man Utd star has ‘completely proven me wrong’ – Jamie Carragher

Jamie Carragher has admitted that Manchester United central defender Lisandro Martinez has completely proved him wrong.

The former Liverpool defender made the admission directly to Martinez after Man Utd’s win against Sabah at Old Trafford in the Champions League on Thursday evening.

Michael Carrick’s side beat Sabah 4-0 in front of their fans to kick off their Champions League campaign in style.

Martinez was among the goalscorers, finding the back of the net in the 68th minute.

The Argentina international central defender has been on the books of Man Utd since the summer of 2022, when he joined from Ajax for a total fee of £56.7m.

When Martinez first joined Man Utd, former Liverpool defender Carragher said that he was too small to play as a centre-back in the Premier League.

However, over the years, Martinez has proved that, despite being 5 ft 9 in, he is a very capable centre-back who can hold his own in the Premier League.

Carragher has previously admitted that he was wrong about Martinez, saying on The Overlap in February 2023: “I think he’s been brilliant.

“To be that small and play centre-back, you obviously have to be a special player, a good player.

“Now, I didn’t think someone of that size could cope in the Premier League.

“But he has coped, and he’s been brilliant.

“He’s been a big part of Manchester United’s spirit.

“There was a game I saw a few weeks ago and he was actually a sub, and someone scored a late goal, and he was right involved in the celebrations.

“Obviously you see him at the World Cup with Argentina, we saw him have that fight – with him and Casemiro coming in, they feel more powerful and strong.

“But I didn’t think a centre-back of that size would be able to cope.

“But, listen, he can still get exposed in the air, that has to happen at some stage.

“But every player has got weaknesses; the best players hide them or make sure they don’t get exposed.

“And I think he’s a really good player and he’s surprised me the way he’s coped. Or, basically, how teams can’t get at him.”

The pundit added at the time: “I’ve got no problem [backtracking]. I can admit when I’m wrong!’

Jamie Carragher tells Lisandro Martinez he was wrong

Carragher has now directly told Martinez that he was wrong about him, with the Man Utd defender also responding to the defender.

The pundit told Martinez after the match against Sabah on CBS Golazo: “Lisandro, when you first joined Manchester United, I said you were too small to succeed in the Premier League.

“You’ve now been here for four or five years, you’ve completely proven me wrong.

“It’s fair to say you’ve grown on me.”

Martinez replied: “That’s fine, that’s fine.

“Sometimes you have to take these comments from you guys.

“You have to be smart.

“If you keep thinking about what you are saying or something, at the end, I will be playing bad, thinking bad things, you know.

“I’m just trying to be focused, I am trying to give everything for this club that trusted me from day one.”