Lisandro Martinez did not contribute to Argentina's World Cup triumph and should be "furious" about his opportunities in Qatar, says former Manchester United defender Paul Parker.
Parker claims that Martinez didn't play much part in Argentina's road to World Cup glory as they beat France in the final. He started just two of La Albiceleste's seven matches at the tournament and came off the bench on three occasions.
Nicolas Otamendi was preferred ahead of Martinez in Argentina's four-man defence, with Tottenham star Cristian Romero partnering the Manchester City icon at centre-back. This meant Martinez was either forced to play as a left-back or not included in the starting XI at all.
Despite his lack of regular involvement, Martinez collected a World Cup winners' medal - something many players will never achieve in their careers. However, Parker doesn't think Martinez will come back to United with much satisfaction, having not been a key figure in the Argentina rearguard.
"When I looked at him, I never got the feeling that he didn’t want to be there. But, of course, he must have been furious that Nicolas Otamendi played instead of him, which is absolutely crazy," Parker told BeMyBet. " He will be disappointed, without a shadow of a doubt. He won the final but he didn’t play in the final and that is a weird feeling.
"It’s a different feeling to win a medal and put it around your neck when you didn’t really contribute to the team on the pitch. He will return with a medal and a bad experience."
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After his exploits in Qatar, Martinez will return to action for United to target more success in the second half of the season. The Red Devils managed to capture the signature of the 24-year-old from Ajax in the summer despite transfer interest from Mikel Arteta's Arsenal.
Erik ten Hag has since revealed he had to convince Martinez to join United after the defender enjoyed so much success playing under him at Ajax. He told Dutch outlet VI : "If I found it hard to take Martinez away from Ajax? I had such a great time there, the way we build a project.
"Out of nowhere, we brought Ajax back to European top level. But Martinez himself wanted to leave. If we didn't take him, he would have gone to Arsenal.
"At a certain point, Lisandro Martinez called me up and said, 'coach, listen, I will leave Ajax no matter what. I can sign for Arsenal, but if you want me, I will go to Manchester United'."
