Manchester United striker, Anthony Martial has taken to his Instagram story to insist that he was available for the club’s Premier League game against Aston Villa on Saturday, January 15 contrary to coach Ralf Rangnick’s claim.
On Saturday, coach Rangnick led Manchester United to Villa Park to take on Aston Villa without Cristiano Ronaldo and embattled Anthony Martial.
The coach decided to name only 8 substitutes for the game which Manchester United ought to win to close the gap between them and 4th placed West Ham United.
In the absence of Ronaldo and Anthony Martial, Manchester United threw away a 2-0 lead Bruno Fernandes gave the club to draw 2-2 at the end of the explosive Premier League encounter.
After the game, coach Rangnick revealed that he did not include Anthony Martial in the squad against Aston Villa because the 26-year-old French striker refused to be a part of the squad.
🗣 "He didn't want to be in the squad."
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) January 16, 2022
Ralf Rangnick confirms that Anthony Martial would've been included in the Man United squad had the player not refused pic.twitter.com/xTdBAWeJ9A
Immediately the report went viral that Martial who is still contracted to Manchester United until June 30, 2024, refused to play for the club, the Frenchman took to his Instagram story to stress that he can never disrespect the club and the fans by refusing to play.
“I will never refuse to play a match for Man United,” Martial wrote on Instagram. “I’ve been here for seven years and I never disrespected and I never will disrespect the club and the fans.”
Martial has been playing for Manchester United since September 1, 2015, after the Premier League club paid Monaco €60 million for his services.
So far this season, the France international has made just 10 appearances in all competitions in which he scored just a goal. The last time he played for Manchester United this season was on December 2 against Arsenal. The league game ended 3-2 in favor of Manchester United.
Because he has not been playing regularly, Anthony Martial has asked the Premier League club to allow him to leave the club on loan this January.
The French striker intends to go to a club where he could play regularly so that he would have a better chance of being selected by the handlers of France’s national team for the forthcoming 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Spanish La Liga side, Sevilla have reportedly shown interest in the football star but no official offer has been made yet. Reports claimed that the Spanish club are willing to pay half of Martial’s weekly wages if United allow him to join the club on loan.
However, Manchester United are reportedly waiting for a club that is willing to pay Martial’s full wages and a loan fee before they would allow the Frenchman to leave this January.
At the time of publishing this report, nothing concrete has surfaced over the future of Anthony Martial at Manchester United.
